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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: 



HADEN WILSON 

MISSIONARY 



A Narrative of Real Adventures, 
True to Frontier Life ; the Names of 
Persons and Places Only Fictitious 




PHILADELPHIA 

American Sunday-School Union 

1816 Chestnut Street 



A tf 



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Copyright, 1912, by 
AMERICAN SUNDAY-SCHOOL UNION 



l?C!.A319379 
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Preface 

Early in the twentieth century a Sunday- 
school missionary in Arkansas gave an impress- 
ive address based on his personal experiences 
in that state and in the Indian Territory, which 
is now a part of the state of Oklahoma. His 
forcible statements, thrilling incidents and 
graphic description of the great work of the 
American Sunday-School Union in neglected 
rural communities so impressed a young man in 
the audience that he resolved to offer himself 
as a Sunday-school missionary. Through the 
speaker, the Eev. Charles W. Burks, he made 
application for a commission and two years 
later the way was opened for the young man 
to enter the Sunday-school mission work. 

That young man's experience furnishes the 
framework for this story. A large portion of 
what is narrated as growing out of Haden 
Wilson's first visit to the Modoc country is in 
reality a personal experience in a similar region 
once known as the Cherokee Nation. The de- 
scription of early life in the Indian Territory, 
the intellectual and religious destitution which 

3 



4 PREFACE 

existed among the white settlers and the reck- 
less characters who openly defied the law and 
showed a vicious disregard for the claims of 
society are not in any way exaggerated. 

This story is not only true to life; but it 
represents real facts and real characters (but 
not their real names) in the person of Haden 
Wilson, Mike Masters and his father, Harry 
Keith, Clarence Bush, Mrs. Holmes and others, 
and portrays a religious destitution that was 
real in communities where the missionary lived. 
That young man's adventures are also substan- 
tially types of the experience and efforts of 
more than a score of other faithful Sunday- 
school missionaries laboring in the regions of 
the Southwest. If it shall increase the interest, 
stir the sympathies and stimulate the readers 
heartily to support this work, the purpose and 
sincere desire of the author will be amply 
realized. 

P. H. WlLKERSOtf. 



Contents 



CHAP. 




PAGE 


I. 


First Visit to Modoc 


7 


II. 


A Father's Folly , 


24 


III. 


A New Country 


31 


IV. 


The Missionary's First Ex- 
perience in the Modoc 
Country 


40 


V. 


The Missionary's First Serv- 
ice in Modoc . . . 


50 


VI. 


After the Service . 


65 


VII. 


The First Sunday in Modoc . 


71 


VIII. 


The Life of a Missionary 


82 


IX. 


A Struggle— Thus Far and No 
Farther 


91 


X. 


The First Sunday- School in 
Modoc 


107 


XL 


The Old Indian Woman . 


121 


XII. 


Victory and Failure 


126 


XIII. 


The Lambs and the Wolves . 


138 


XIV. 


"The Good Shepherd Giveth 
His Life For His Sheep " 


149 


XV. 


The Shepherd Smitten . 


162 


XVI. 


"My Word Shall Not Eeturn 
Unto Me Void" 


182 



6 CONTENTS 

XVII. Some Eeal Conditions Which 

Demand Attention • . 191 

XVIII. The Missionary Goes to the 

Ozarks 196 

XIX. Dr. Cypert Seeks to Discredit 

the Missionary . . . 200 

XX. The People's Answer . . 210 

XXI. " Truly the Harvest is 

Great " 220 



Haden Wilson: 
Missionary 

CHAPTEE I 

FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 

On a hot day in August, Haden Wilson 
alighted from a freight train in the neighbor- 
hood of Modoc, Oklahoma. There was no 
depot where the train stopped ; only a water 
tank and siding. The engine pulling a local 
freight stopped to take water, and also to let 
the passenger off. For the lack of more pas- 
senger trains, the conductor on this local freight 
was allowed to carry travelers. Young Wilson 
had arranged that the "tank" was to be his 
destination. The conductor got off the caboose 
with his passenger, and the two men engaged 
in conversation while the engine took on its 
required supply of water. At the sound of the 
whistle they shook hands, and the conductor 
swung aboard his train as it pulled out to the 
south. 

7 



8 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

A box car rested on the siding and by it 
stood a wagon and team. The wagon was 
loaded with prairie hay, and two men were 
engaged in transferring the hay from the 
wagon to the box car. 

The strange young man — for this was Haden 
Wilson's first visit to Modoc — after seeking the 
shade of the tank, sent a searching glance across 
the prairie to the west. Attracted by the sound 
of the men unloading the hay, he left the shade 
and walked to the box car. Before he reached 
it, they stopped work and stood watching the 
stranger with an expression on their faces which, 
if interpreted, would have said, " Who are you, 
and what is your business here ? " 

It was not unusual for strangers to appear in 
the neighborhood of Modoc, but they were gen- 
erally whiskey peddlers, or United States of- 
ficers; either were always interesting to the 
two men working at the hay. 

Young Wilson greeted the men in a frank 
and courteous manner. The tone of voice and 
the free and easy manner of the young man 
were good evidence, in the judgment of the men, 
that the visitor was neither a bootlegger nor 
an officer of the law. The men returned the 
friendly greeting, and the reserve common be- 
tween strangers was swept away. Inquiry was 
made as to the distance and direction to the 



FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 9 

store and post-office. "Two miles west," re- 
sponded the elder of the two men, with a slight 
ring of the Irish brogue in his voice. 

The names of the merchant, doctor and 
several farmers were as readily given by the 
same one in response to the young man's re- 
quest. All of which names were written down 
in a blank book by the inquirer. 

"Is the schoolhouse near the store?" the 
stranger asked. 

" Yes, only three hundred yards north," an- 
swered the elder of the two men again. 

It was eleven o'clock, and the rays of the 
August sun were sizzling hot, but the young 
man seemed to take no note of the intense 
heat as he picked up his grip and started 
toward the store. After going a short distance 
he turned and came back to the men, who w T ere 
still trying, in their minds, to reach a satis- 
factory solution of the stranger's business. 

" Is there a Sunday-school in the school- 
house ? " he inquired. 

The question puzzled the two men still more, 
and Mike Masters — that was the name of the 
elder of the two men — exclaimed, " Man, no ! " 
with strong emphasis on the first word. 

" If you are looking for Sunday-school peo- 
ple," continued Mike, emphasizing the word 
people, " you need not stop in these parts." 



10 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

The statement opened the way for further 
conversation by which young Wilson learned 
that there were about sixty children of school 
age in the neighborhood, and a large number 
of young people, whose ages ranged from seven- 
teen to twenty-five ; and that since Mike could 
remember, there had not been a Sunday-school 
and very little preaching. 

" Do you know any one in the community 
who might become interested in a Sunday- 
school ? " asked the stranger. 

" No one," with a searching look at his in- 
quisitor. 

"Would you not like to have a Sunday- 
school ? " asked the young man, walking closer 
to Mike. 

" 1 think it would be a good thing for the 
children ; but, man, we haven't any one about 
Modoc to run it. It takes people who read the 
Bible, sing good songs and pray, to run a Sun- 
day-school, and there's no one here who works 
in that kind of harness." 

Following this young Wilson explained that 
he was a Sunday-school missionary, and also 
the purpose of his visit to Modoc. 

" Say, mister, if you are a religious man you 
will sure get lonesome in this country, if you 
are looking for that brand of people to run 
with. The boys may make it lively for you." 



FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 11 

At the conclusion of this speech the mission- 
ary picked up his suit case and again started 
toward the store. 

"Say, Mr. Wilson, since you are going to 
stop anyway, if you will wait a few minutes 
you are welcome to ride to the store. You 
will find it warm enough over there without 
heating yourself up by walking. Harry Keith 
is a terror to all who say they believe the Bible. 
And the boys — they are sure to be drunk when 
there's preaching, and what they do is a plenty, 
I'll tell you." 

The missionary decided to accept Mike's kind 
offer and sought the shade of the car while the 
men unloaded the big bales of hay. All con- 
versation ceased ; but Mike and his companion 
were busy contemplating the results of the 
young man's visit. Both felt that they knew 
how it would terminate, and a chuckle escaped 
the lips of Mike. 

Young Wilson was also busy. His past ex- 
perience with men, and especially since he had 
become a missionary, led him to believe that 
Mike was a character, and one of the first 
things for him to do was to make of him a 
friend. 

14 All right, Mr. Wilson, we are ready," called 
out Mike. 

Young Wilson stepped from the shady side 



12 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

of the car, and with a vigorous swing of the 
right arm tossed his suit case to a secure place 
on the hay frame and followed it with a spring 
that landed him by the side of Mike, who 
watched his movements with a marked degree 
of interest. 

" You say your name is Wilson ? " 

" Yes, Haden Wilson." 

" I have a friend named Tom Wilson, but I 
guess you don't know him. He's not your kind 
of people." 

11 1 know a Tom Wilson over in the Spavinaw 
Mountains." 

" It may be the same bid Tom. You may 
be of kin. Are you ? " said Mike, with emphasis 
on " you." Without waiting for an answer Mike 
continued : " I first met Tom twenty-four years 
ago in the seminary at Tahlequah. His home 
was on Coyote Creek, in the hill country. His 
father was a white man, but he killed some 
men over in Georgia, and when they threatened 
to enforce the law, he came to the Cherokee 
country and married old man Hawkeye's 
daughter. Hawkeye was half Cherokee. 
Coyote Creek is a fine valley country with 
mountains on both sides ; a good place to hide, 
as well as to hunt. Tom grew up in them hills 
and mountains — a mean devil ! His father sent 
him to Tahlequah, but he never took to study, 



FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 13 

and lie objected to the requirements of the 
school. Sometimes he would run away and 
return to the mountains to live with the In- 
dians. But his father would bring him back. 
After two years' trial he was allowed to remain 
at home." 

The team was driven by Mike's companion ; 
and with a vigorous application of the whip it 
moved off at a lively rate, but the driver was 
interested in what passed between Mike and 
the stranger and soon forgot to apply the " per- 
suader," as he called it. The horses took notice 
of the apathy of the driver and settled to a 
poky walk. 

" Tom and I are not related," said the Sun- 
day-school man, " but I know him. I first met 
him near two years ago." 

"Was you in them hills with a grip like 
that ? " asked Mike quickly. " Something has 
come over Tom. Years ago you would not 
have been safe. Then, if you had showed up 
with a thing like that without red liquor, you 
would have been taken for a government offi- 
cer ; and I'll tell you, young man, you would 
have to answer mighty straight if you got out 
all right. Was you in them hills alone ? Nine 
years ago I lived in that valley, and Tom and 
me took in the country when we felt like it. I 
tell you it was tough. It was not safe then for 



14 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONAKY 

a fellow like you to be roaming around. I've 
not heard from Tom in several years. How 
was he getting along when you saw him ? The 
last time I heard of the rascal there was war 
on between him and Jake Jones. They were 
trying to settle some trouble with Winchesters. 
Where did you meet Tom ? " 

The mention of Mike's old friend brought 
back the past and he plunged into its review, 
not appearing to note that he had asked ques- 
tions which required answers. 

The missionary was willing to let him talk. 
In that way he would get a clue to the man he 
wanted to know more about, so he did not at- 
tempt to interrupt him by answering. But 
after Mike asked the last question, he paused 
as if expecting an answer. 

" I met him out in the mountains northwest 
of the valley." 

" Great Scott ! man, what was a Sunday- 
school worker doing in that country ? Nobody 
but outlaws, moonshiners and revenue officers 
go into such a devil's den as the Spavinaw 
Mountains," ejaculated Mike, as he gave the 
young man a searching look. 

" In October of that year," said the mission- 
ary, " I was asked to visit the Coyote Creek 
valley and see if I could not organize a Sunday- 
school. After securing the names of several 



FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 15 

people who lived there, I started from Fayette- 
ville, Arkansas, early on Thursday morning to 
make the trip by noon the next day. When I 
stopped that night I found that I was fifteen 
miles from the valley. The next morning was 
cloudy, and a chilly wind was blowing from 
the north ; but I set out soon after daylight to 
make the fifteen miles. The road was rough, 
and my ponies were forced to go slowly. I 
soon reached the deep gorges in the mountains. 
Everything I could see looked lonely, and I felt 
as my surroundings appeared. My courage was 
kept up, however, by the expectation that I 
would soon come out of the gloomy scenes into 
the valley of Coyote Creek. Hours passed and 
the hills, or mountains, appeared to get higher, 
and the space between them much narrower. 
The way continued to grow rougher and more 
gloomy, and I began to think I had taken the 
wrong road, when I reached the most desolate 
part. However, as I pressed on, I saw ahead 
of me a board fastened to a tree. Here I felt 
sure was 'the friendly guide-post and, urging 
my ponies forward, I drove up to read its direc- 
tions. On the board in big, black letters were 
the words, ' Just Five Miles To H-ll.' " 

" Thunder ! mister, you was eight miles from 
the valley," roared Mike, with a vigor that 
caused the little old bony team to move into a 



16 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

livelier trot, " and just five miles from where 
old Shanks' wildcat-still used to be. That 
thing stirred up more hellishness in them moun- 
tains than has ever been found in any other 
place on the earth. Jake Jones and I nailed 
that very board on that tree the day after Sam 
Jesup and Hal West killed each other. We 
swore that we would shoot the one who tore it 
down, and I guess it is there to this day. Both 
men had good wives. On that day they went 
to the still, good friends, got drunk on old 
Shanks' moonshine whiskey and rounded up by 
killing each other. As we stood around their 
graves and heard their weeping wives and the 
cries of their helpless children, I felt like rising 
up and stamping out the whole infernal busi- 
ness. The next day after we buried them, Jake 
and me walked up the valley and nailed that 
board where you saw it, as a warning to all 
who did not want to go to hell." 

Here Mike paused as if in deep agony over 
the past. 

" I tell you, Mr. Wilson, I have sold many a 
gallon and drunk more of the cursed stuff, and 
I know it is hell." 

This utterance of Mike was with such force 
that the little old bony team moved out again, 
evidently thinking that the whole demonstra- 
tion was for it. 



»r 



FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 17 

Wilson saw that he had made a discovery 
that would add interest to his experience, and 
remained silent, hoping that his companion 
would continue. 

" I told the revenue officers if they wanted 
to find the place where most of them would go 
after Uncle Sam got through with them, to 
follow the directions of that sign-board. The 
old ' devil,' Shanks, and his son were killed, 
and his plant burned. I left when that raid 
was made, but some of the gang stayed. Tom 
Wilson was one of them. But I don't know how 
it is now. How was it when you was there ? " 

Mike paused after asking this question. 

" It is not so bad now," said young Wilson. 

" How did you get out of that country alive ? " 

" When I saw that sign I stopped. I had al- 
ready gone as close to that country as I wanted 
to get. In fact, I was not hunting that place." 
At this statement Mike and the driver laughed. 

" You was not traveling on that road," said 
Mike, continuing to laugh. 

" No, sir. I turned my ponies' heads at once 
in the other direction and started back down 
the narrow valley. As soon as I felt that I was 
out of danger, I stopped, knowing that I was 
lost. After a little while I concluded to hallo ; 
so I gave a big ' whoo-ee,' hoping that I might 
attract the attention of some one." 



18 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

" By the eternals, man, that was a dangerous 
thing to do ! Them hills might have been full 
of men looking for bootleggers or officers. If 
they had found you, it is dead sure you would 
not be taking this ride with us to-day." 

This last statement served to send the little 
old bony team into a lively trot again. 

" Yes, so I thought that day. After giving 
that big whoop, in a very short time, three 
voices answered back. I soon heard them 
again. I was almost sure that I was about to 
fall into the hands of outlaws. They continued 
to hallo ; one down the valley in the direction 
I was going. After reflecting a short time as 
to what to do I concluded that I would stop, 
and answered back in a good strong voice. I 
did not have to wait long, for in a few minutes 
I saw a man looking in every way like an out- 
law, as I had such characters pictured in my 
mind. He appeared to be very tall, much more 
than six feet, and carried a Winchester in both 
hands, ready to shoot at the slightest warning. 
I sat in my buggy and held the ponies, but 
they were very impatient, and I thought scented 
danger. By the time he approached the buggy, 
another, looking equally dangerous, came into 
view from the other side. The first man de- 
manded with an oath why I did not come yes- 
terday. I explained that I did not know that 



FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 19 

I was expected on that day, but he insisted that 
I did. Pretty soon two more came up, both 
with Winchesters. Their greeting was some- 
thing similar to that of the first men, and I 
continued to protest that I did not know I was 
expected yesterday. All came close up, and 
the first one to address me walked to the rear 
of the buggy, lifted the cover and ran his hand 
inside. He brought out a twenty-five cent 
Bible, a large number of which I was carrying 
with me. When he held up that Bible for his 
companions to inspect — the surprise that came 
to the face of each I shall never forget. At 
first they looked like they would run away. 
Pretty soon, however, the one who held the 
book gained his self-control, gave a long, keen 
whistle, and then broke into a laugh in which 
the others joined. 

" ' Say, mister, who are you, and what do 
you expect to do with these things ? ' said the 
leader, who by this time had made a further 
examination of the buggy, bringing out other 
Bibles and passing one to each of his compan- 
ions. 

" I told them my name. 

" ' You must not be the man we are looking 
for just now. But you may be one of them 
cursed revenue officers,' continued the leader. 

" At this suggestion a vicious look came into 



20 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

the face of each one. Throwing the Bibles to 
the ground they stepped back from the buggy, 
holding their "Winchesters in a most threaten- 
ing position. 

" ' I say, mister/ demanded the man to my 
left, i who are you ? "We're not going to be 
fooled with this time. If you are one of them 
cursed officers, pretending to be a Bible man, 
your days are up. It is the last time you will 
slip into these woods and pry into our business.' 

" They looked desperate, and some explana- 
tion was necessary. I held up my hands and 
told the men to come and search me. 

" At this the one at my left said, ' Pull him 
out, Tom, and see what he's got.' " 

" I'll bet these horses and wagon that that 
was Tom Wilson," exclaimed Mike. 

This statement was accompanied with a 
greater demonstration than any of Mike's pre- 
vious performances, which caused the little old 
bony horses to lunge forward, nearly sending 
the missionary and Mike sprawling on the 
ground. Mike avenged this breach on the part 
of the horses by vigorously cursing each. 

" That long six-footer who came around the 
bend, I'll bet Bill and Kate (those were the 
names of the horses) was Tom — the same old 
Tom Wilson I used to tramp with over the hills 
and mountains looking for bootleggers, marshals 



FIEST VISIT TO MODOC 21 

and revenue officers. I'll tell you, Mr. Wilson, 
if that Torn had ever pulled the trigger of his 
Winchester on you I'm sure we wouldn't have 
the pleasure of your company to-day. How 
did you and them rascals settle it ? You must 
be a slick duck to explain to that gang. Yes, 
sir, you must be a good one to be here to-day. 
How did you do it ? " 

Mike paused ; this gave the missionary a 
chance to proceed. 

" I told them frankly who I was, and my 
mission to that country. They laughed and 
made sport of my purpose, but I was firm and 
asked them about several people whose names 
I had secured. One of the parties I inquired 
about was Tom Wilson, the six-footer. When 
I called his name the gang forgot its murder- 
ous purpose of a few minutes before in an out- 
burst of laughter, and when I told them I had 
selected Tom Wilson's name from the list as a 
person probably suitable for superintendent of 
the Sunday-school I expected to organize I 
gained a point. Of course they laughed at the 
idea, but understood my ignorance of the real 
condition. I told them I would hold a service 
at their little schoolhouse the following night 
and another on Sunday, and expressed the hope 
that each one would be present. I asked Tom 
to get into the buggy with me, as I had to 



22 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

spend the night somewhere, and would as soon 
stay with him as any one in the valley. None 
of the men would go with me, but I insisted 
that I was going to Tom's house. Tom ob- 
jected by saying he was not fixed to keep 
strangers. He tried to bluff me by saying that 
he had eleven children at home. But he told 
me how to go and I drove down the little narrow 
valley. I knew I was watched, so I took my 
time, stopped at the first house I came to and 
explained my mission to a poor, tired woman 
with a number of children, a Mrs. West." 

"That's Hal's widow, I'll bet this wagon," 
broke in Mike with great emphasis. 

" When I told her what I was there for, she 
burst into tears and said she wished I had come 
long ago. I found the little schoolhouse, called 
on a few other families and finally drove up to 
Tom Wilson's and told his wife I wanted to stay 
all night. Tom soon rounded in, satisfied that 
I was neither a bootlegger nor an officer. I 
spent the next day in the valley, meeting as 
many people as I could, and arranging to make 
the little old schoolhouse comfortable. To 
make a long story short," said the missionary, 
for he saw they were near the store, " I spent 
ten days in the valley and organized a little 
Sunday-school. I preached each night and 
visited the people during the day. Some 



FIRST VISIT TO MODOC 23 

months later I returned and held a meeting in 
which a number were converted. A church 
was organized. Tom Wilson is an officer in it 
and superintendent of the Sunday-school. A 
painted church house stands in the valley near 
the banks of that beautiful little creek, and the 
people are called together each Sunday morning 
by the church bell. The blind tiger and boot- 
legger find it hard to do business in that coun- 
try now. The people have learned that a Sun- 
day-school and a church are much better." 

The wagon had stopped in front of the store, 
but Mike appeared to be oblivious of all about 
him. What the missionary had said about the 
change in Coyote Creek valley brought to his 
mind visions that had long been marred by a 
vicious and dissipated life. 



CHAPTEE II 

A father's folly 

Mike's father was an Irishman. While a 
young man his adventurous spirit carried him 
into the Indian country. After remaining there 
some time he married a Cherokee girl whose 
father was a white man. The elder Masters, 
after making some investigation as to a suitable 
section in which to locate, chose the western 
part of the nation, and was the first farmer to 
demonstrate the fact that that country was 
suitable for growing grain in addition to its ad- 
vantages for grazing. 

Mike's father lived a reckless life, although he 
was a successful farmer and stockman. He soon 
laid claim to a large portion of the land about 
him ; and was never more in his proper element 
than when in a dispute with some other claimant 
over boundary lines, or unbranded cattle. It is 
reported that for a number of years, during the 
latter part of the existence of the courts of the 
tribal government, and also after the United 
States superseded that government by substitut- 
ing its own courts, the elder Masters' name 

24 



A father's folly 25 

seldom failed to appear on the dockets, both 
civil and criminal, at each term of these courts. 

He was not content to let the law settle all 
matters of dispute. A difference with him 
meant a challenge to physical combat wherever 
he encountered his enemies. This was especially 
true when he was under the influence of liquor, 
and that was always his condition when he was 
where whiskey could be had. As a result of 
that temperament the elder Mike Masters bore 
to his grave many marks of sanguinary conflicts. 
From the earliest recollection of the eldest son, 
Mike Jr., it was his father's protracted drunks, 
ungovernable rage, and frequent returns home, 
half dead, maimed and bleeding, that impressed 
him most. 

The younger Masters as he advanced in years 
shared his father's cause. His Irish and Indian 
blood, under the influence of whiskey, com- 
bined to make him a dangerous character at an 
early age. His prowess and nerve readily won 
for him the admiration of the drunken clans. 
After passing into his teens, young Mike was a 
power to be reckoned with by the enemies of 
the Masters family. 

While the elder Masters frequently rose to 
great heights in praising his son's courage and 
physical powers, he was not unmindful that he 
should receive a fair degree of mental training. 



26 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

To accomplish this, Mike was sent to the tribal 
school at Tahlequah. 

In school his progress was also marked. He 
entered as heartily into his new life and ac- 
cepted the requirements of the faculty with the 
same zeal that had made him the young hero and 
champion at home. Ere long young Masters 
demonstrated that he possessed strong mental 
powers as well as physical strength and cour- 
age. He also had a frank way of always tell- 
ing the truth, that won for him the admiration 
of the officers and teachers of the institution. 

The social and religious influence of the 
seminary aided in bringing great changes to 
the semi-civilized life of the young student. 
These marked improvements, with his frank 
temperament, led some of the members of the 
faculty and citizens of Tahlequah, who had the 
good of the Cherokee people at heart, to regard 
him as one of the promising young men of the 
nation. 

Upon his return home, however, at the close 
of the school, these hopeful signs of reform and 
development would disappear. The conduct 
and conversation of his associates, and the gen- 
eral environments of the home would fall like 
a dark shadow over his budding and promising 
life. The transformation of the young man was 
always great ; so much so, that at times he him- 



A father's folly 27 

self was amazed at the changes. He would 
often long to return and seek the associations 
of the seminary which had been the means of 
discovering, and, to an extent, developing new 
purposes in his life. But bad company and 
language, the impious and debauched life of his 
father and the low and depressing surroundings 
of the ill-kept home had been a part of his 
existence from his earliest recollections, and he 
supposed were to continue as they had always 
been. 

When only a small boy he was taught by his 
depraved father and associates to drink and 
gamble, and now in his young manhood he was 
expected to join in the frequent drunken 
revelries. At first, on returning home, his 
conscience smote him as he joined his old com- 
panions in their frantic orgies, but that small 
voice was soon hushed by the overwhelming in- 
fluence arrayed against it, and he was again ere 
long the leader of the neighborhood clans. 

The few years in school qualified Mike to 
handle business with a degree of system and 
accuracy. His aptness in making calculations 
and keeping accounts afforded his father much 
pleasure ; and he took great credit to himself 
that he had been generous enough to provide 
the means to educate his son. But the habit of 
drinking and gambling, which he himself had 



28 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

taught the boy, was a matter of no concern to 
him. 

Soon after returning home from the seminary, 
having spent four years at Tahlequah, Mike mar- 
ried a successful farmer's daughter. At this 
time the young man enjoyed the utmost con- 
fidence of his father, who took great pleasure in 
making a good selection of a farm on which the 
young couple were to settle, the farm to be 
Mike's allotment, by virtue of his being a citizen 
of the Cherokee Nation. 

Shortly after taking charge of his own affairs 
Mike was also placed in control of the school in- 
terest, then administered under the tribal laws of 
the nation. He was greatly pleased with the 
responsibility and took special pains to discharge 
the duties of that office. It delighted him to 
see the children in school, and he frequently 
visited them. When in their presence the re- 
fining influences of his early training, in the 
seminary, were so pronounced that all traces of 
a reckless and debauched leader disappeared. 
In the school he was as gentle and kind as the 
trusting child. Of all the experiences that 
were a part of his life, save that of his young 
wife, which served to check the tide of wicked- 
ness into which he was being plunged, the lit- 
tle schoolhouse was his only refuge. There he 
could be free from temptation. It, too, brought 



A father's folly 29 

back to him memories of pleasant associations. 
"While thinking and working in the interest of 
the children, there would often come to him 
visions of a life free from the debasing habits 
that held the young manhood of the country in 
their relentless grasp. At times he longed to 
be free from them, and the little schoolhouse 
for a while encouraged him. But its influence, 
like the still, small voice of his conscience, 
forced to combat such powers of evil, too, was 
hushed by the increasing flood of wickedness. 

As the years passed the drinking habit, and 
all it entails, grew on young Masters. Gam- 
bling was common ; and with the years, that 
blighting curse sunk its fangs deep into his 
whole life. He frequently lost heavily. At 
times all of his available property was swept 
away in a game of poker. Occasionally he 
would win, but failure or success only served to 
plunge him deeper and deeper into gambling's 
treacherous power. In a few years all the 
property he could control was consumed in the 
vortex of dissipation. His father was so 
estranged from him on account of his losses 
and neglect of business that he refused further 
aid or protection to him or his family. While 
the elder Masters would often bewail the fact 
that his son had made such shipwreck of his 
life, yet at no time did he think to reproach 



30 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

himself with the truth that he, his father, was 
the primary cause of this stranding of the son's 
manhood. 

After long years of dissipation, and when all 
hopes for Mike's reformation — even by himself 
— had been ground to powder, there would still, 
in his sober moments, come to him the vision of 
that purer life which attracted him in his 
earliest manhood. He would sometimes wonder 
how or why it was, that visions of better things 
would appear to one, such as he was, a stranded 
human being, a derelict, tossed and driven by 
the winds of dissipation. It has ever been so 
with poor and helpless men. They may not 
know that such visions are the calls of a loving 
God, seeking to win them back from the power 
of sin. Yet it is true. It is the call of him 
who came to seek and to save the lost. Men 
like Mike are helpless, as much so as poor blind 
Bartimseus; while Jesus is as ready to save 
them from their depraved life as he was to heal 
the blind beggar, yet they, like the beggar, must 
go to him if they would be saved from the 
power of sin. 



CHAPTEE III 

A NEW COUNTRY 

Modoo was not only the name of the post- 
office, but it stood for a section of country. 
The post-office was established in the seventies, 
before any railroads were built. In the early 
days the entire region, composing the western 
part of the Cherokee Nation, was regarded as 
fit for grazing purposes only ; and that particu- 
lar section, which finally became known as Mo- 
doc, was considered one of the choice portions. 
The grass was luxuriant and the whole territory 
well watered by a number of small streams 
which headed back in the hill country to the 
west. The low land adjacent to those streams 
and extending some distance back from them 
on either side was covered with timber such as 
oak, hickory, walnut and other growths. This 
timber afforded abundant shade for the cattle 
during the heat of the summer, and protection 
from the storms of winter. Such advantages, 
together with the bountiful supply of water and 
abundant grass, made the Modoc country an 
ideal place for cattle raising. 

James Clark was one of the first enterprising 

31 



32 haden wilsok: missionary 

white men to discover this ideal region. He 
was also the first white man to appropriate 
a portion of its superior advantages. Clark 
drifted into the country in 1832, stopping at 
Fort Gibson with the Kangers sent to that fort 
by the United States government. He made 
the " Tour of the Prairies " with the Kangers 
and parties from the East, commissioned by the 
United States to negotiate a treaty with certain 
tribes of Indians located in what is now central 
and western Oklahoma. Clark possessed an 
adventurous spirit and enjoyed the confidence 
of the commission and United States army offi- 
cers. He also enjoyed the personal friendship 
of Washington Irving, who accompanied the 
commission on its trip to the West from St. 
Louis. 

After returning to Fort Gibson, from the 
" Tour of the Prairies," Clark decided to re- 
main in the Indian Territory. Frequent excur- 
sions were made into other little known regions 
of the West. It was on one of these expeditions 
that he discovered the attractive country after- 
ward known as Modoc, and some years later 
he came with his Indian wife to build his home 
and appropriate its superior advantages. 

Clark's aggressive spirit soon won the friend- 
ship of the Indians, and he in turn became an 
adopted member of the tribe. He was devoted 



A NEW COUNTRY 33 

to the interest of the Cherokee people — so far 
as he was able to discourage them from adopt- 
ing other white men ; but in after years it was 
a common report that James Clark's large ac- 
cumulations were at the expense of the people 
he professed to love. 

After settling in the Modoc country Clark's 
holdings soon doubled, and he became an influ- 
ential man in the management of tribal affairs. 
His cattle, roaming over that region which his 
prophetic eye had marked, growing sleek and 
fat on the succulent grass, were numbered by 
the thousand. The men whom he employed to 
protect his interests on the range were not ham- 
pered with instructions ; only his interests were 
not to be neglected. One of the orders to be 
faithfully observed, that he might not be robbed 
of his own, was to place upon all unbranded 
stock found in the region the imprint of Clark's 
ownership. 

This method of acquiring property often led 
to trouble. Other men made the discovery 
that the Modoc portion of the Cherokee Nation 
was a desirable stock country, and they made 
bold, as Clark had done, to appropriate its ad- 
vantages. Among them Mike Masters was one 
of the most aggressive. This clashing of inter- 
ests often led to hostilities in which one or more 
of the cowboys lost their lives. 



34 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

Harry Keith, who drifted across the border 
near Coffeyville, Kansas, was one of Clark's 
most faithful adherents. Where he came from 
no one ever knew. But that fact in those days 
was not sufficient to raise a suspicion derogatory 
to a newcomer's character. All that was re- 
quired was loyalty to the present interest of 
those he served. In this Harry Keith never 
failed, even to the extent of rebranding cattle 
where the marks of other ownerships were 
dimmed. After a service of a few years, Keith 
married a daughter of his employer and soon 
thereafter became one of the managers of his 
father-in-law's large estate. 

It had become generally known that the 
western portion of the nation was good for 
farming. While opposition to breaking or 
plowing the land was bitter among the cow- 
men, yet cutting up the region into farms con- 
tinued to increase. 

As early as 1866 the Delaware Indians 
purchased from the Cherokee Nation the right 
to the ownership of one hundred and sixty 
thousand acres of land. After making this 
purchase that tribe moved from Kansas to the 
Cherokee country. While very few of the 
Delawares were farmers, yet they were a 
home-loving people, and many of them settled 
in the western part known as Modoc. 



A NEW COUNTRY 35 

Finally it became a recognized fact that this 
region could no longer be held for grazing 
purposes. In compliance with this conclusion, 
James Clark disposed of much of the land he 
claimed by making leases to white farmers for 
a term of years. Thus after a bitter contest 
between the cowmen themselves, and also be- 
tween the cowmen and farmers, there came a 
change from that of a grazing to an agricultural 
country. 

Harry Keith knew what would happen. 
With the increase of population and especially 
the coming of the Delawares, who received 
large payments of money from the United 
States government, a demand for supplies 
nearer home would be created. To meet such 
a demand he opened up the first store in that 
region south of Coffeyville, and west of the 
Yerdigres Kiver. It proved a success. Harry's 
trade with the Indians was good, and the prices 
they were forced to pay greatly enriched the 
merchant. 

In a short time after opening the store a 
post-office was established, and Modoc became 
a recognized place on the map. 

Some years later the St. Louis and Iron Moun- 
tain Kailroad was built from Fort Smith, Ar- 
kansas, to Coffeyville, Kansas. This road missed 
Modoc, passing some miles to the east. At its 



36 haden wilsok: missionary 

nearest point there was only a siding and water- 
ing tank. But the trains stopped there to re- 
ceive and discharge passengers, and also to un- 
load freight. It was here that Haden "Wilson 
first stopped to begin his work as a Sunday- 
school missionary in this section, and here he 
met Mike Masters. 

When Modoc began to attract attention as a 
farming country, its choicest lands were leased 
by white farmers. However, some of the In- 
dians located in the vicinity where the post- 
office was afterward established. 

The settlement of the Indian families led to 
the building of the little schoolhouse in which 
was taught a six-months school during each 
year for the benefit of the Indian children. 
While a large per cent, of the children in the 
community were white, no provision was made 
for their education. 

The white farmers had been attracted to the 
nation on account of the favorable conditions 
for farming and the long term leases on land 
at a nominal cost. 

The fact that only a few of them owned or 
could own the land had a depressing effect on 
the educational, moral and religious interest of 
the entire country. The lack of the element of 
permanency prevented some, who understood 
the need of schools and a higher standard of 



A NEW COUNTRY 37 

morals, from taking active steps along these 
lines. There was little reverence for the Sab- 
bath day or regard for the holy Bible. It was 
true that occasionally a citizen sent a son or 
daughter to the national school at Tahlequah, 
but in most instances these students would re- 
turn to their homes as Mike Masters had done, 
to find such a contrast between the ideal life 
of which they had a glimpse, and the real life 
in which they lived every hour of the day, that 
they soon settled down in what seemed to be 
the only way open to them. 

True, religious matters and the Bible were 
frequently discussed at the store ; yet such dis- 
cussions generally ended by impressing the 
youths, who often heard them, that the Bible 
and the Christian religion were frauds. Harry 
Keith prided himself on violently criticizing 
both. His opposition was always pronounced. 
In fact, he was determined that no church or- 
ganization should gain a footing in the commu- 
nity, and had several times secured infidels to 
visit the little schoolhouse and deliver lectures 
in which the Bible and Jesus Christ were 
severely condemned. All this resulted in prac- 
tically intimidating those who did not believe 
as he did. 

Not all the people, it is true, were disbeliev- 
ers; there was, however, but one individual, 



38 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

Mrs. Holmes, who was a professing Christian 
at the time of Haden Wilson's visit. " Uncle 
Bill " Massey would at times take a bold stand 
against Harry Keith, but his inconsistent life, 
inasmuch as he got drunk occasionally, and 
when angry would curse, was a great humilia- 
tion to him in his sober moments ; and because 
he was guilty of such conduct he would lay no 
claims to being a Christian. 

In fact, when a young man in Missouri, he 
was converted and lived a consistent Christian 
life for several years. But during his long resi- 
dence in the Indian Territory he had fallen 
away from his early profession. Yet " Uncle 
Bill's" loyalty in the support of his belief 
caused many to regard him with a marked de- 
gree of reverence. In his arguments with 
Harry Keith, however, he was always subject 
to one weakness, that of losing his temper. 
The victory in the minds of many who would 
hear the heated discussion between the infidel 
and " Uncle Bill " was not always on the side 
of the infidel. Occasionally he would attack 
the disbeliever with arguments that he was un- 
able to answer. Then Harry Keith would re- 
sort to his old schemes of provoking his antag- 
onist to wrath, which was always followed by 
a volley of oaths. These oaths were the refuge 
of the infidel, for the reason that the listening 



A NEW COUNTRY 39 

crowd would be moved to uproarious laughter, 
and that ended the arguments. 

It was to this community that Haden Wilson 
had voluntarily gone for the express purpose of 
spending at least ten days. His plans were to 
hold services each night during that time, and 
to establish a Sunday-school. 

The little schoolhouse erected years before 
for the Indian children was the only building 
available for such services. It was necessary 
to get the consent of the directors of the school 
district to use it. Harry Keith was one of 
them and, as Mike had remarked, whatever he 
said was law. It was true there were two 
other members of the board, but Keith dictated 
all the business at that time. It had been the 
custom to use the building for all purposes of a 
public nature, such as shows, debates, dances 
and occasionally, in bad weather, those who 
gambled would resort to the schoolhouse. 
Sometimes, too, a preacher would venture that 
way and hold a service in it. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE MISSIONARY'S FIRST EXPERIENCE IN 
THE MODOC COUNTRY 

"When the wagon in which Mike and Haden 
Wilson rode stopped at the store, it was twelve 
o'clock. The missionary proceeded at once to 
see the merchant, who was pointed out by some 
of the loungers about the store. He was tall, 
at least six feet, large of bone and clothed with 
very little extra flesh — a raw-boned six-footer. 
His hands and feet were also large and, as he 
moved about, one got the impression that he 
was a conspirator. His big hands, with their 
long, bony fingers, made the missionary think 
of a snake. There was no warm, hearty clasp, 
but a cold, almost slimy, touch. His face, 
lank, skinny and gaunt, harmonized with his 
hands and feet. His eyebrows were heavy and 
they, with his lowering forehead, gave one the 
impression that he owned a very brutish na- 
ture. His eyes were small and black, and were 
never still, refusing to stand for a searching 
glance. That they were the windows of his 
soul appeared to be fully understood by Harry 

40 



THE FIRST EXPERIENCE 41 

Keith, and he was determined that his soul 
should not be explored. 

After introducing himself, the missionary en- 
tered at once into an explanation of his work, 
and the object of his visit to Modoc. The bold- 
ness and candor of the young man astonished 
the merchant. It was the first time in many 
years that any one had been daring enough to 
make so frank a statement of his plans, which 
were altogether contrary to Keith's views. 
Others who approached him along such lines 
did so with an air of apology. But this young 
man had no apology to offer. With him clearly 
his work was a business of importance, and to 
do that work was his greatest purpose. 

"Well, Mr. Wilson, you understand we do 
not care for your kind of work," said the mer- 
chant. 

" I have understood that you seldom have 
preaching and that you have never had a Sun- 
day-school," replied the missionary. "But I 
suppose there are some who would like to have 
some religious services, and I am sure that the 
children would be glad to attend a Sunday- 
school." 

" You will find it hard ; I guess you will," 
and he gave the young man a brief, searching 
glance of inquiry as if to learn whether he had 
the nerve and the good common sense to meet 



42 HADEN WILSON." MISSIONARY 

and overcome the opposition which he knew 
would be arrayed against him. 

" You can have the schoolhouse, but I'll guar- 
antee you will not want it two weeks," said the 
merchant, in a bantering tone. 

"I may get through before that time," re- 
plied the missionary, " but I have planned to 
spend two weeks here at present." 

With the preliminaries relative to the school- 
house settled, the missionary next set about to 
engage a room where he could make his home, 
and he was not long in getting located. 

Haden Wilson was deeply impressed with the 
importance of the task he was undertaking. 
Already he had been made to feel that there 
were breakers ahead. He felt his utter inabil- 
ity to accomplish his mission in his own name. 
By years of experience he had come to know 
in his weakness that there was strength in 
Christ's promises ; the only trouble was to trust 
them. This he constantly sought to do by 
often engaging in earnest prayer. To that end 
he knelt in his room that afternoon, and in his 
prayer asked to be guided in the special work 
he was about to begin. 

After spending a short time in the home 
where he had secured lodging Haden Wilson 
returned to the store. It was clear that his 
mission had been made known. His approach 



THE FIRST EXPERIENCE 43 

had the effect of silencing the noisv crowd. A 
battery of eyes was turned upon him as if he 
were a visitor from another planet. The 
crowd's curiosity was met with frankness. To 
a number he introduced himself, and most of 
the men were respectful, yet some manifested a 
coarse and boorish manner. James Murray, a 
noted character in the neighborhood, showed 
his rudeness when the missionary asked him to 
attend the services. 

" I never go to such places except to help the 
tramp preachers to move on," he said in a 
swaggering manner. 

The crowd laughed. The missionary smiled, 
but did not show that he was intimidated. 

" If I am invited to that kind of a service I 
may be there," said Murray, giving some of the 
boys a wink, and they laughed again. 

" I suppose you make some investigations be- 
fore you take part in that kind of service," 
remarked the missionary. 

" All preachers are about the same," rejoined 
Murray, squaring himself for an argument or 
anything else that might follow. 

At this point Mike Masters broke in with the 
same emphatic manner that had set the little 
bony team into a trot. 

" I expect to see to it that Mr. Wilson gets a 
fair deal," said Mike, with a swing of his fist 



44: HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

and a stamp on the floor that at once silenced 
Murray's bantering attitude. " I expect to see 
to it, Jim Murray, that you and your gang 
will have company on the spot if you go to the 
schoolhouse to-night to disturb Mr. Wilson," 
continued Mike in no uncertain tone. 

" I'm sure," said the missionary, " that the 
boys will give me a chance. I have generally 
found them willing to do that, wherever I have 
gone." 

This pointed statement, together with the 
young man's new friend's demonstration and 
remarks, had a good effect. 

" I will be busy the remainder of the day, 
but I hope to see all the boys at the service 
to-night." And with that statement Haden 
Wilson withdrew and set out to visit as many 
homes in the community as he might be able to 
reach that afternoon. His object was to give 
publicity to his services and to invite the people 
to attend them. In this simple act he was en- 
gaged in his first battle with Satan for the 
salvation of the people of Modoc. At times, 
on his rounds that afternoon, the results of his 
efforts appeared so small that he was tempted 
to give up the fight. But in the struggle there 
came to him the promise, " Lo, I am with you 
alvvay, even unto the end," and he rushed on 
to the next home. 



THE FIRST EXPERIENCE 45 

On visiting one cabin, young Wilson prac- 
tically forced his way inside. It was a poor and 
badly kept home. In response to his knock at 
the door an old Indian woman appeared holding 
it only partly open, her own body filling the 
space. It was an unusual sight to see her, in 
whose tall, statue-like body, black and piercing 
eves and brown and withered face, there still 
lingered traces of her noble ancestors. She 
showed great indifference to what her visitor 
said, and was averse to answering questions. 
The missionary was a little taken back when 
she refused to talk, but there came to him the 
impression that perhaps of all whom he had 
called on that afternoon she most needed help. 
As she moved back from the door, with a wave 
of her hand as a signal for him to leave, he, in- 
stead of departing, gently pushed his way 
inside and took his stand in the middle of the 
room. He continued his questions, but she an- 
swered no more readily than before. Observ- 
ing an enlarged picture suspended from the 
wall the missionary looked at it for a while. 
It was that of a young man. Glancing at the 
old woman, he saw that she was pleased. 

Turning to her he asked : " Whose picture is 
that ? " 

" My boy — he my boy — he good boy." 

" Where is he ? " continued the missionary. 



46 HADEtf WILSON: MISSIONAKY 

The mother hesitated, then replied : " He at 
Leavenworth," and would say no more. 

" What does he do at Leavenworth ? " not 
suspecting the real cause of his being there. 

"He work — he in prison — he innocent — he 
good boy." 

By continuing to ask questions about the 
young man, who had been sent to the United 
States penitentiary for a long term of years, 
the missionary led the poor old Indian mother 
to forget the reserve, and she was soon talk- 
ing freely. He learned that she was sixty 
years of age, a widow, who had two sons; 
that she could not read and was not a Chris- 
tian. 

" Mothers' prayers can greatly help their 
boys," said the missionary. "Your boy at 
Leavenworth needs your prayers." 

" Me want help my poor boy. Not good," 
and she placed both hands on her breast. Still 
holding them there, and shaking her head, she 
said, " Heap bad." 

" Jesus can help you to be good and will hear 
your prayer for your boy." 

" Me want Jesus," said the old Indian woman, 
still holding one hand on her breast. 

" I will help you to find him and pray for 
your boy if you will go to the services*" 

" Me will go." 



THE FIRST EXPERIENCE 47 

With* this the missionary gave her his hand 
and left the cabin. 

Among the homes visited that afternoon was 
that of Mike Masters. His wife was a tired 
little woman. While there was an air of tidi- 
ness in the little two-roomed cottage, yet every 
article of furniture was of the cheapest char- 
acter. The children, who stood in silence about 
the room with a look of anxiety in their faces, 
were scantily clad. When the object of his 
visit was explained there was a visible expres- 
sion of relief on the mother's face. It was not 
unusual for strangers to visit their home, but 
the purpose of such calls was generally to col- 
lect debts contracted by Mike during his 
drunken sprees. So when it was learned that 
the object of the present visit was of a helpful 
nature, in the interest of the children, the tired 
little woman could not keep back the tears. 

In her early girlhood, back in the state of 
Missouri, she was a member of the little Sunday- 
school. The memories of those sweet, innocent 
days in her young life, the contrast which the 
years had brought her ; the great difference in 
her own childhood and that of her children — 
all this flashing through her mind came near 
unnerving Mrs. Masters, who for more than 
eighteen years had been tried in the hardest 
school of life. 



48 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

The missionary understood it all. His heart 
was full of sympathy for the mother and the 
helpless children. While these children bore in 
their pinched, pale faces and on their bodies 
the marks of poverty, there were in their ap- 
pealing looks and regular and well-formed 
features expressions of gentleness, love and 
devotion to their mother that was beautiful. 
She in her long suffering had not forgotten or 
thrown aside gentleness and patience. The full 
blessing of both had rewarded her in the 
beautiful and loving devotion of her children. 
The father was a most impatient man when 
drinking, but his outbursts of rage had been 
borne meekly. The meekness was, and had al- 
ways been, the children's refuge. How she 
held to it no one seemed to know. In silence 
she bore her disappointments and afflictions and 
clung to what she felt, in the assurance of her 
heart, was her duty. 

When the missionary left that scant and 
humble home he had an enlarged vision of his 
mission to the people of Modoc. 

" I must win that man," he said almost 
audibly, as he rushed along the dusty road to 
the next house. The prize was a glorious one. 
To win Mike signified far more than saving a 
man. It meant the lifting from the wife and 
mother a load of poverty that hung like a mill- 



THE FIRST EXPERIENCE 49 

stone about her neck, and bringing to the chil- 
dren much more than they could hope for, 
trained, as they had been, to know the hardest 
conditions of life ; it would bring to them happy 
childhood ; strike from their tender, innocent 
lives the shackles that bound them prisoners to 
all the curses that drink brings to home, mother 
and childhood. 

" It must be done," he said over and over 
again, and the vision of saving a man and his 
wife and children did not leave the missionary 
until he was face to face w r ith the mother in the 
next home. 



CHAPTEE V 

THE MISSIONARY'S FIRST SERVICE IN MODOC 

After calling at the last house, Haden 
Wilson hurried back toward the store. Coming 
near he was surprised to see so many men on 
the outside in groups. His approach was met 
by a stare from a score of eyes, the same to 
which he had been subjected several times dur- 
ing the day. 

After seeing the increased crowd, and surmis- 
ing what it all might mean, he did not stop, 
but went direct to his home and took a seat on 
the gallery for a brief rest. From where he sat 
he had a good view of the store and its sur- 
roundings. The men were still collected in 
groups. Some were moving about in a more or 
less excited manner. The missionary became 
deeply interested in what he saw, and he did not 
watch long before he was convinced that a 
number of the men were already under the in- 
fluence of liquor. Voices grew louder and men 
rushed about in a manner that clearly indicated 
its effects. The bootlegger was abroad and 
at that time was plying his ruinous business. 
Voices continued to grow more boisterous. 

50 



THE FIRST SERVICE IN MODOO 51 

Two young men left the crowd and rode away 
in a gallop, yelling like wild Indians. The 
yells were accompanied by a volley of pistol 
shots. Looking a while after the young men, 
who continued their demonstrations, he again 
turned to watch the crowd at the store. This 
time he recognized Mike Masters, surrounded by 
several men, some laughing, others cursing, and 
Mike apparently in a great rage, opposing what 
seemed to be advocated by those about him. 
Mike was demonstrating his protests with violent 
language and gestures. 

Haden Wilson half wished, as he watched the 
movements of the men and as it came to him 
more fully what it all meant, that he had not 
made the appointment to preach that night. 
While he was not altogether a stranger to such 
scenes, he had never become so used to them as 
not to dread facing such conditions. He was a 
timid young man and often felt a dread in 
standing before a reasonably civil crowd. 
From all outward appearances he was sure the 
crowd he would have to face at the schoolhouse 
that night would be a noisy one at least, and 
that there would be some interferences with the 
service. Although he was timid and dreaded 
to face an ill-tempered or noisy gathering, it 
had been necessary a number of times for him 
to do so since taking up mission work. 



52 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

" I will do my duty," he mentally resolved, 
after sitting some time watching the gathering 
unrest of the men at the store. 

When the missionary reached the school build- 
ing there were but few present, the crowd con- 
sisting of children, girls and boys, with very few 
adults. Uncle Bill Finley was there, also the 
old Indian woman whom he had visited that 
afternoon. But judging from the stern expres- 
sion on her face there was no indication that 
the service might mean anything to her. The 
missionary made it a point to pass around and 
speak to each one, or in some way show that he 
recognized them. He was kindly received by 
most of those present, but some were re- 
sentful. A group of girls who were manifestly 
bent on showing their disregard for him laughed 
in his face when they refused to take his prof- 
fered hand. 

By eight-thirty a fairly good crowd had gath- 
ered. Some few were standing on the outside 
looking in at the door and windows. Those 
inside were engaged in laughing and talking. 
The congregation was asked to join in singing. 
Some complied, others were indifferent. By 
the time the song was completed the mission- 
ary, by giving careful attention, had located 
several good voices in the congregation. 

" I'm glad to hear you sing so well," he re- 



THE FIRST SERVICE IN MODOC 53 

marked at the close of the song. This statement 
had the effect of drawing his congregation closer 
to him. 

Haden Wilson had a pleasant voice, a kind 
eye, and at times a smile would play across his 
face adding to his personal appearance ; all of 
which were at his command that night. 

While he was not a professional singer, yet 
necessity had forced him to a training that had 
developed his ability to sing to a passable de- 
gree. His voice was not strong, but it was 
smooth and clear, and he had acquired the 
happy faculty of getting the people to join in 
his song services. That he w r as able to do so 
was always a matter of pride with him. It had 
helped him out of many a hard place. When 
he w r ould fail to win his congregation or to hold 
it — and he did sometimes fail — in presenting his 
message, it was seldom that he failed to inter- 
est them in a song service. 

Following the first selection, he asked that 
they join in another. The chorus, after the 
first verse, was repeated several times. A num- 
ber of others joined in this, and by the time 
the chorus following the last verse was 
reached nearly every one present joined. Why 
they did so, few could have explained. There 
was a power, somehow, that swept them all into 
line, and it required a greater effort to resist 



54 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

than was necessary to join in the singing. And 
every one enjoyed it. 

"That was fine," again remarked the mis- 
sionary at the close. And the young man and 
his congregation were drawn one link closer to- 
gether. 

At the conclusion of the second song some of 
those who had been standing on the outside 
came in and took seats. Following this last 
movement, the missionary asked that all bow 
their heads for a short prayer. Some few did, 
but others continued to sit upright. From one 
or two sections there were loud whisperings and 
suppressed laughter. To comply with such a re- 
quest was unusual, and some seemed to think to 
do so meant that they were to represent them- 
selves as praying, a duty that very few in the 
neighborhood of Modoc had ever performed. 
The thought was amusing. 

The missionary prayed. When he began, 
some looked up in surprise. They had never 
heard any one pray in that way before. He 
appeared to be in the very presence of his God, 
and was addressing him in the fullest confidence 
that what he asked for would be granted. It 
was the simple petition of one who had faith. 
That faith swept all the barriers away and en- 
abled the young man to approach his heavenly 
Father as he would his kind and helpful earthly 



THE FIKST SERVICE IN MODOC 55 

pai*ent. The disturbance which was manifested 
in the beginning soon subsided, and there was 
silence. All ears were open to hear the plead- 
ing and confident appeal. During the prayer 
more than one heart was made glad, that in it 
the fathers and mothers, the children and 
young people of the community were remem- 
bered. 

At the close of the prayer there was a greater 
feeling of reverence in the congregation. The 
girls, who had shown such rudeness toward the 
missionary and for some time continued giddy 
in manner, had become more subdued. 

This spirit of reverence was rudely shocked 
when some young men entered the room in a 
swaggering manner, and after taking seats near 
the crowd of giggling girls, began to talk in low 
tones and occasionally laugh. They were un- 
der the influence of liquor. The group of girls, 
who twenty minutes before had refused to shake 
hands with the missionary, looked hard at the 
young men, and as they continued, one of the 
young women reached over and violently shook 
a disturber. At this the young man gave a 
shriek as if in great pain. The crowd laughed. 

It was seen at once that the purpose of those 
coming in last was to disturb and probably 
to break up the meeting. Some expected to see 
the young man fly into a rage and roundly 



56 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

abuse the disturbers. But in that they were 
disappointed. 

During the confusion that followed more 
men came in and stalked about the room, pre- 
tending to look for a place to sit down. They, 
too, were under the influence of liquor. Two 
of them found a vacant seat, and one, in at- 
tempting to sit down, missed his aim and fell 
sprawling on the floor. The crowd again 
laughed. The companion of the one on the 
floor attempted to aid him to his seat, but feign- 
ing drunkenness he, too, fell and rolled over the 
floor near the young woman, whose vigorous 
shake had brought from the young man such 
frantic yells. Beaching for a stick, which had 
been used as a window prop, but which had 
been discarded for a longer one, the young 
woman seized it and turning on the intruder, be- 
gan vigorously to pound him about the head 
and body. He soon retreated to a safe distance 
and began to rail at his friend for allowing him 
to be " beat up " while he was trying to aid 
him so he could enjoy the worship. He also 
turned to the preacher, who was standing 
quietly on the little stage, and began to re- 
proach him for allowing people to be " beat up " 
as he had been when they came to enjoy the 
preaching. 

" If this is the way you are going to run your 



THE FIRST SERVICE IN MODOC 57 

meeting — have people beat up instead of preach- 
ing to them — I'm in favor of stopping you right 
now. We don't need a fighting school ; we've 
had plenty of lessons in that line. "What we 
need is to be taught how to quit fighting, and 
I thought that was your business. " 

Following this little lecture he rubbed his 
hand over his head and, as he did so, gave a sur- 
prised start when he discovered that blood was 
flowing from a wound, caused by the vigorous 
use of the stick. He exclaimed, " By grashus, 
Bill, that gal came as near as Christmas killing 
me ! " This statement and the frantic actions 
of the victim provoked laughter from the crowd. 

A half dozen more men came in from the 
store, all evidently under the influence of liquor. 
One of them, seeing the victim of the girl's 
wrath standing in the aisle, bleeding and call- 
ing for a doctor, rushed up to him and de- 
manded if the parson had licked him already. 

" No," he roared, " worse than that. That 
gal of Sam Smith's won't give him a chance. 
She's took the job." 

The confusion continued to grow and more 
men came in. It was now clear that the whole 
procedure, except the use of the stick, was to 
provoke the missionary to wrath, break up the 
meeting, and force him to leave in double quick 
time. 



58 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

Mike understood that afternoon that such 
had been planned and vigorously protested. 
He swore vehemently that he would kill the 
man who interfered with young "Wilson. 
That since he had something to do with his 
coming to the community, he felt that it was 
his duty to protect him. And, too, during the 
ride from the tank to the store, he was drawn 
toward the young missionary, and now he was 
ready to defend him at any cost. 

Those who knew Mike understood that it 
would not be safe to attempt to carry out their 
plans as long as he could interfere. So some of 
the leaders, with the advice of Harry Keith, 
conspired to get him out of the way by making 
him drunk. Mike fell a victim to their design, 
drank heavily, and as it set his blood on fire, 
his rage toward those who were plotting against 
the young man grew more furious. By eight- 
thirty his frenzy was beyond control. Several 
fights had already been started in which he 
was an aggressive participant. This highly in- 
flamed condition of the man was well under- 
stood, for it was a sign that he would soon col- 
lapse. That meant that he would subside into 
a sluggish stupor for the remainder of the night. 
By nine o'clock that state of drunkenness, which 
deprives a man of action as well as reason, had 
taken complete possession of Mike, and he lay 



THE FIRST SERVICE Itf MODOC 59 

helpless, battered and bruised, on the grass at 
the back of the store — thus removing, as 
Harry Keith supposed, the only obstacle in the 
way of getting the missionary out of the 
country. 

It had been planned that the crowd would 
go in several groups to the schoolhouse. Each 
group, after entering, was to do something that 
would either provoke the preacher or some 
member of the gang. In the end a fight was 
to ensue and a cry raised against the missionary. 
When that stage of the game was reached they 
were sure the young man would be glad to get 
away. A chance was to be given him to run, 
and all would enjoy the fun. Parties with fire- 
arms were stationed along the road, which it 
was supposed he would take, and these were to 
open up on him with a vengeance. This they 
knew would increase his fright, and at the 
thought of how he would " burn the wind," as 
they called it, some were convulsed with 
laughter. 

The store had been gradually deserted, the 
crowd appearing, as had been previously ar- 
ranged, at the schoolhouse. The part that had 
been played by Mary Smith, especially her 
vigorous use of the window prop on the head 
of Jacen Provine, had not been arranged for, 
and therefore had the effect of disconcerting 



60 HADETST WILSON: MISSIONARY 

their movements. And, too, the perfect calm- 
ness of the young man, whom they had marked 
for their victim, during the entire disturbance, 
was a phase of the procedure that they had 
not planned for. 

The crowd, however, swayed and swaggered 
about the room, and some moved near the stage 
where the young man stood. One man pre- 
tending to lose his footing fell in the aisle, and 
in an effort to gain his balance, came too near 
Mary Smith's club. No sooner was he on the 
floor than she began pounding him with a vim 
over the head. Such a determined and unex- 
pected assault from a young woman set him to 
roaring and protesting his innocence, all of 
which was great fun for the crowd. Some 
parties in the rear of the building called out, 
" Hit 'im again." The victim soon retreated to 
a safe distance and stood against the wall on 
the other side, rubbing his wounds. 

Silence for the first time in the last twenty 
minutes came over the crowd. Why every one 
had ceased to say or do something, no one 
knew. But all eyes were fixed on the young 
man, who stood as quietly and as unmoved as 
if he faced a bevy of schoolgirls instead of a 
drunken and vicious mob. 

The missionary saw that this moment was 
his opportunity. Opening the book, which all 



THE FIRST SERVICE IN MODOC 61 

the while had been held in his hand, he said, 
" Let us sing number ." 

This statement from the young man increased 
the quietness as well as the surprise of some. 
It was expected that the disorder would be 
severely rebuked which in turn would open up 
the way for the ruffians to renew their disturb- 
ances. Being thus shut off from any direct 
means of renewing the trouble, those bent on 
mischief waited in silence for their turn. They 
did not want to be defeated in their purpose 
and sought to use discretion to that end, hence 
their silence — that they might find the proper 
method of attack. 

" Before beginning the song," the missionary 
stated, "I want to say that it is one your 
mothers sang when you were smiling, innocent 
babies. Years ago when she sat by your 
cradle, or held you in her loving arms and sang 
these beautiful lines, you would look up into 
her pure, smiling face and coo as innocently as 
the little dove in its nest. Do you not remember 
your innocent childhood ? And crowded into 
those days are there not the cheerful smiles and 
tender voice of mother ? Those were sweet 
days. Let us in this song go back to them and 
live for a few moments with our innocent child- 
hood, and feel again the power of our mothers' 
tender care and love." 



62 HADE1ST WILSON: MISSIONARY 

Following this statement, which made the 
boisterous crowd understand it was facing a, 
new order of man, the missionary began in his 
tenderest tones to sing. But no one joined in 
the first verse nor the chorus. On the second 
two or three attempted to follow, but soon 
ceased. The young man sang on. He seemed 
to be lost to all about him, to everything but 
the pleading of the mother for her wandering 
boy. The crowd of rough men stood transfixed. 
Before he had completed the last verse Haden 
Wilson knew that the victory was his — that he 
had won. There was something in the young 
man — it was not a defiant spirit ; no, it was not 
the spirit of antagonism — but there was some- 
thing that disarmed every man that stood be- 
fore him that night. 

When the last sound of the chorus had died 
away, he said, " I'm glad you like that song. 

At some other time I will tell vou more about 

t/ 

it, and what it has been to me." The crowd 
did not move, but remained as if bound by a 
spell of reverence for the young man before it. 
The missionary announced that he would hold 
services the following day at eleven o'clock and 
at night, also each night during the week. " I 
am glad," he said, " to see so many out to-night, 
and I trust you will be present at each of the 
services to follow." Then he said, " Let us be 



THE FIRST SERVICE IN MODOC 63 

dismissed," and he lifted up his voice with such 
thankfulness to the Father for his tender care 
that it was guessed by some how it was that 
the rough spirit of the men had been changed 
to that of meekness. 

There is a power in the faith that trusts God. 
But there are very few Christians who seek to 
obtain that power in the way that gives them 
strength. When Jesus said, " He that follow- 
eth me shall not walk in darkness," he stated a 
truth as definite and universal as the law of 
gravitation. The race has progressed in pro- 
portion as it has understood and applied the 
latter law. The irnpotency of the Christian has 
been marked by his failure to understand and 
apply the former. There are thousands of souls 
crying out daily for light of the revealed Christ, 
and yet they are pigmies in his service. If one 
enters the service of Christ in his own strength, 
he is impotent. "We can only lose our irnpo- 
tency by forsaking all and following him with a 
faith as clearly defined as is the faith of the 
individual who, knowing that his credit is good 
at the bank, believes that his check will be 
cashed. 

This nation can be won for Christ in a gener- 
ation ; but before that can be done, his follow- 
ers must, with glad, willing hearts and lives, 
answer the demand that he made of the rich 



64 HADEN WILS01ST: MISSIONARY 

young man, " Forsake all and follow me." If 
the Christian wants to know how to realize the 
truth and power of faith in Jesus Christ, he 
must gather up all his ambitions, his idols, prop- 
erty — absolutely all, and know which is first 
in his life ; these or Christ. If the former, he 
will have no more power in his name than the 
gambler. He is not and cannot be within his 
law. In " forsaking all " we go away — it may 
be from friends, property, ease, a cherished am- 
bition. Then in that hour of struggle, in his 
name, we can claim his promises, and with our 
lives in harmony with his will, we are equipped 
as a laborer in his vineyard. 

Haden Wilson knew what "forsaking all" 
meant in his own life. He knew also what it 
was to refuse to surrender all. But one day he 
was able to say, " I will do it," and faced the 
world with all he had cherished most against 
him. But he did not falter. Few, if any, 
knew his struggle. In that surrender of all, he 
found a new and richer revelation of Christ. It 
was through the power of that revelation that 
he won the rough men of Modoc. 



CHAPTER VI 

AFTER THE SERVICE 

After the meeting at the schoolhouse was 
dismissed, most of the crowd left at once, espe- 
cially those who went there for the purpose of 
raising a disturbance. They did not even re- 
turn to the store as it had been planned for 
them to do, but went in different directions to 
their homes. Seeing that their plans had failed, 
very few of the men were willing to discuss the 
matter or admit that they were parties to a 
plot to commit a wrong against such a man as 
they found the missionary to be. There were 
a few, however, who were displeased with the 
outcome and soundly abused their leader for 
the failure. 

Harry Keith remained at the store, waiting 
for a report. Several times he chuckled to 
himself as he imagined that he could see the 
young man in his fright rush out to escape the 
mob, and when free from one, dash into the 
arms of another, who would with increased 
fury set upon him. Such a scene to Harry 
Keith, as he reviewed it in his mind, was highly 

65 



66 HADEj* WILSON: MISSIONARY 

entertaining. It had not occurred to him, since 
Mike had collapsed into a drunken stupor, that 
their plan might fail. 

All of his thoughts and actions were on such 
a low plane, and his standard for men was so 
debased that he was almost impervious to the 
noble and beautiful traits in any human life. 
With him in most instances and conditions, hu- 
man beings occupied the common level with 
the lower animals. The noble traits of mind 
and heart, their power to win others to the 
beautiful and good, were no longer realities 
with him. In his youth and early manhood it 
was not so. But in his maturer years he had 
failed to walk steadily in the paths of virtue 
and honesty ; to silence his conscience he took 
refuge in the doctrine that his responsibility 
ended w r ith his life. Thus deluded he had gone 
through the years, and while it had brought to 
him nothing but a harvest of barren regrets, he 
willingly remained a slave to his folly. If he 
sought to express sympathy for the unfortunate, 
it was heartless ; if he professed to be in har- 
mony with those who labored to aid others, his 
professions were as sounding brass. Mastered 
by such a life it would be hard to conceive that 
men with high and noble purposes still lived, 
and that most people could be influenced by 
the power of such characters. The beautiful, 



AFTER THE SERVICE 67 

pure and good were out of harmony with his 
low ideals, and with his real life as he lived it. 
If either called to him, it was like the dewdrop 
reflecting all the beauty of the rainbow as it 
lost its identity in the stagnant water of a 
filthy pool. 

The thirty minutes' time which Harry Keith 
had allotted to carry out his plan was awaited 
with deep interest by him. As the time passed, 
he was puzzled that no one returned to report 
the proceedings. He was growing anxious, but 
his anxiety was to some degree relieved by two 
young men entering the store. The merchant 
stood ready to receive a report of the fun. The 
young men were not parties to the compact to 
disturb the meeting, yet he expected them to 
have something to say about the trouble at the 
schoolhouse. When they failed to do so, he 
was surprised. 

" Have you been to the schoolhouse, boys ?" 
he asked, hoping to lead them to begin the 
story. 

" Yes," each replied at the same time, and 
then a pause followed. 

" Have a good crowd ? " the merchant in- 
quired. 

" Yes, a big crowd," said one of the young 
men, and then another pause. 

Harry Keith was becoming more impatient, 



68 HADEN WILSON*: MISSIONARY 

and he ventured to ask again : " Is the meeting 
out?" 

" Yes," again replied the young men in con- 
cert. 

The merchant walked hurriedly to the front 
door and looked out. He could not understand 
how it was that the men did not return to the 
store. 

" Was Mike Masters at the meeting ? " the 
merchant asked, knowing full well that Mike 
at that time was dead drunk at the back of the 
store. But he asked the question to draw the 
young men out to tell about the meeting. 

" No," was the reply, and another pause. 

He waited a few moments and then asked, 
"Did anything happen at the schoolhouse to- 
night?" 

"You bet there did." 

At this point the missionary and another 
young man entered the store. The merchant 
could hardly believe his eyes. His first impulse 
was that of joy, for he had come to fear that 
the mob had done its worst to the young man, 
and while he was an adept in shifting responsi- 
bilities, he could not help feeling his liability, 
to a degree at least, if the mob's action had re- 
sulted as he had begun to suspect. The impulse 
was for a moment only, when there rushed into 
his heart the long-nourished bitterness against 



AFTER THE SERVICE 69 

the teachings for which the young man stood. 
His mood was sullen. It had dawned upon him 
that the men had failed. And he began under 
his breath violently to curse them. By the 
time the two young men had made a small pur- 
chase and left the store, Harry Keith felt that 
he had been outraged. Others dropped in and 
by degrees he heard what took place at the 
schoolhouse. When he had learned the whole 
story, and that the young man had made 
friends, he was in a towering rage. The mer- 
chant was now an avowed enemy of the young 
missionary, and would go to almost any extreme 
to defeat the purposes for which he was labor- 
ing. 

But there was one condition in the Modoc 
community with which Harry Keith had to 
reckon, and that was that his influence was 
limited to a few of the most desperate char- 
acters in that section. Prior to the present 
time he had felt the weight of public sentiment 
against him, and had learned to be cautious 
when that sentiment was pronounced. Taking 
counsel of this experience he concluded that he 
would not arrange any further plans until he 
knew to what extent the missionary had made 
friends with the people. He knew that it was 
possible for an aggressive and capable young 
man, as he believed the missionary to be, to 



70 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

have a powerful influence for either right or 
wrong, and openly to oppose him would only 
result in the defeat of his purpose. 

One thing, however, he settled that night 
before he slept, and that was to hold in his 
ranks the faithful few who were ready to do 
his bidding. To that extent there was well 
defined opposition to the efforts of the mission- 
ary, and just as much more as the merchant 
might be able to set in motion. 

Haden Wilson knew full well that every 
movement he made would be watched by his 
enemies. He also knew that they would not 
hesitate to resort to acts of violence if such acts 
would serve to force him out of the country. 
On the other hand he already felt sure that he 
would have the people with him. And that 
any other plans of a violent nature would be 
withheld from the public. Whatever it might 
be he was not disconcerted in the least and, in 
a spirit of meekness, he resolved that he would 
proceed with his work. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE FIEST SUNDAY IN MODOC 

The service on Sunday morning was well 
attended, and at night the crowd was large. 
At each service particular stress was placed 
on the music. Sufficient song-books had been 
provided by the missionary, and a number of 
people entered heartily into the singing. 

He noted again the presence of several very 
good voices. These, and the willingness which 
the people showed to accede to his request, were 
encouraging to the missionary and to a degree 
convinced him that they were not with Harry 
Keith in his opposition. 

At the morning hour the missionary talked 
twenty minutes, and let the people go at twelve 
o'clock. His theme was the " Prodigal Son," 
and he read the whole story. As an illustra- 
tion of his theme, at the conclusion, he told of 
a boy, who had left his home in the state of 
Missouri, before the days of railroads, and sought 
his fortune in the far West ; how he was sorely 
afflicted by disease and, penniless and friend- 
less, refused to return to his father's home, but 

71 



72 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

remained with those who had no love or sym- 
pathy for him and died a miserable beggar, 
although the father had done all he could to 
find his prodigal boy. 

The story won — more than one looked 
through their tears at the speaker. He closed 
by saying that every one present who is away 
from God — who is a sinner — and who rejects 
his plans to save them — is, in God's sight, like 
that poor penniless boy out in the Eocky Moun- 
tains. 

The last thought almost startled some of the 
members of the congregation. They had been 
interested, their sympathy had been aroused 
for the suffering boy, and to have the lesson 
brought home to them — that they were equally 
helpless— brought them to see at least in part 
as they had never seen before the real applica- 
tion of the great parable of the Prodigal Son. 

Seed had been sown and the young man 
prayed that it might fall into good ground and 
bring forth an abundant harvest. 

Sunday afternoon a group of young men col- 
lected at the shady side of Harry Keith's store 
building and discussed the events of the night 
before. None of them seemed to understand 
how or why the program previously arranged 
was not carried out. James Murray and one 
or two others were bold enough to say in a 



THE FIRST SUNDAY IN MODOC 73 

swaggering manner that if they were to go 
through it again they would pull the young 
chap down and send him out over the road in 
double quick time. Such boasting, however, 
did not meet with flattering encouragement. 
Another young man, Clarence Bush, remarked 
that while he was with the crowd that went to 
the schoolhouse to raise a disturbance, he did 
not see why they wanted to run the missionary 
out of the country. " He appears to be a nice 
young man, and I think we should let him 
alone." Some others present were of the same 
opinion. 

"It's all Harry Keith's work," exclaimed 
Ed Crockett, who arrived in time to hear the 
remarks of Clarence Bush. " And now he is 
cavorting like a madman. He swears that the 
young man will have to light a shuck before 
the last of the week. He says he will lead the 
crowd next time and will not be bluffed with a 
song, prayer, or Mary Smith's stick." 

That afternoon Haden Wilson walked out a 
mile or so from his boarding-place. He was 
anxious about the evening services and deeply 
absorbed in his plans. He was sure the crowd 
would be large, and to make a favorable im- 
pression meant much to his success. On the 
way back he passed by Mike Masters' home, 
and on coming near he decided to go in and 



74: HABEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

speak to the family. The first one he saw on 
entering was Mike. He was in his right mind, 
but his appearance was distressing, suffering 
from his late drunk. In his helpless condition 
of the night before he had been severely beaten, 
and when he was reminded of it, as he often 
was by the pain he suffered, he would break 
into such frantic rage as to frighten the chil- 
dren from the house. All day he swore venge- 
ance against every one who was a party to his 
misery. 

When Mike saw his young friend enter the 
room he smiled, and while that smile spread 
over his face, which was bruised and scarred, it 
gave the missionary an impression that Mike 
was not alogether bad. Haden Wilson took a 
seat by the suffering man, and when he held his 
large, hard, bony hand in both his, Mike felt 
that it was the touch of a friend, and the anger 
that had kept him and his family miserable 
through the day subsided. 

" You need not tell me what happened last 
night; I know it all." This was said by the 
missionary to forestall Mike, for he knew if he 
began the story he would soon be in a passion 
that would prove hurtful. 

"We must not think and talk about what 
happened at the store any more now. None of 
us can help at this time what was done, but it 



THE FIRST SUNDAY IN MODOC <o 

is necessary that you get well right soon. I 
want you to attend the services. I missed you 
to-day." 

Every few moments, however, Mike would 
break out in his impetuous way against those 
who had treated him so brutally. But as the 
details of what happened at the schoolhouse 
were related, he grew quieter. "When the per- 
formance of Mary Smith with her stick was 
told he laughed heartily, although to do so 
caused him great pain. The story of the song, 
which the missionary sang the previous night, 
was related. It, too, had a good effect on the 
man, who had for many years been moved to 
action by coarse and dissipated surroundings, 
save in the little home where the good little 
wife still preserved an air of refinement, cour- 
age and purity. 

The missionary's visit brought a new vision 
into Mike's life ; visions of years ago, before he 
was a complete slave to habit, a scorned victim 
of those who forged the chains that bound him, 
before the harsh law of necessity had forced him 
to grinding toil, with no cheering hope to illu- 
minate his coming years. 

Mike had been cast down so often in the past 
years ; he had so many times failed to throw off 
the yoke of intemperance ; had so often blasted 
his wife's most cherished expectations, that he 



?6 HADEtf WILSON: MISSIONAKY 

felt his star of hope for the future had set in 
blackest despair. He had come to look upon 
life as holding no prize for him. The knowl- 
edge that others regarded him as an outcast, 
with his coming years to live like a galley-slave, 
stood as a wall of adamant between him and 
that liberty and light which his soul at times 
longed to know. Everything had conspired to 
drag him down. In his sober moments he 
would curse his weakness and swear vengeance 
against those who conspired to betray him into 
the power of the enemy of hope, home, man- 
hood and happiness. 

" Curse your personal liberty," he would say 
when Harry Keith, standing against all restrict- 
ing laws, would argue that every man had a 
right to drink. "Look at me and the other 
poor devils in this country ! We have appro- 
priated your personal liberty, associated with 
its advocates, bootleggers, gamblers, thieves 
and murderers. After years of loyalty see 
what it has given us in return — a wrecked 
manhood, wives and children bound by poverty 
that crushes ! " 

During such arguments Mike would at times 
grow into a great fury, and his Irish blood 
caused him to vindicate his views in one or 
both of the good old Irish ways of settling all 
difficulties — a fight, and then a drink. With 



THE FIRST SUNDAY IN MODOC 77 

Mike one drink meant many more, and as long 
as he could argue or fight he would wage war 
with any one who would dispute the fact that 
his own life was the most powerful argument 
against Harry Keith's doctrine. 

Thus it had come that his whole future was 
blotted out. He had reached that period in 
life where he refused to believe that it held any 
hope or promise for him. Mike still possessed a 
vigorous body and a clear mind when free from 
strong drink ; liberated from it he would give 
himself to hard and incessant toil. 

The missionary was hopeful that Mike would 
soon recover, and upon leaving said so, but 
promised to visit him the next day. 

After the departure of the visitor the poor 
victim was much quieter. During that brief 
hour the dark clouds had drifted, but to him 
the vision beyond was not for Mike Masters. 
"What followed through the night, his struggle 
with pain and his remorse of conscience, we 
will not, and cannot, record. But some who 
have gone the road that Mike was then 
traveling know full well the anguish of his 
soul, as he tossed and moaned on his bed of 
straw. 

A large crowd was present at the evening 
service. The old Indian was there with the 
same stoical expression on her face. The 



78 HADEN wilsost: MISSIONARY 

crowd was boisterous. Everything indicated 
that the reverent spirit which came over the 
congregation in the morning service had been 
swept away. 

Mary Smith was the heroine of the hour. She 
was asked many bantering questions. Some 
wanted to know if she had her war club, oth- 
ers asked about her paint, and still others in- 
quired what she would do if Uncle Bill Finley 
should get happy and shout. 

The crowd laughed at all these sallies. The 
entrance of the missionary made no difference ; 
the fun and jokes continued. While it all had 
a depressing effect on him, yet he knew that no 
special disrespect was intended. The people 
had never known any other way. To them 
there was very little difference in going to the 
schoolhouse to see a show or hear some one 
preach. 

The song service began promptly at eight 
o'clock. The same plan of repeating the chorus, 
which the missionary had adopted as one of the 
methods to interest the people, was followed 
in the opening song. Several selections were 
rendered and a number of those present joined 
in that part of the service, all of which was a 
means of bringing the congregation and mis- 
sionary closer together. 

Haden Wilson had adopted this course for 



THE FIRST SUNDAY IN MODOC 79 

several other reasons ; the chief of which was 
that it served as an aid to concentrate the minds 
of the people on the service. This he had 
learned was one of the essentials of a successful 
service. Concentration in religious work is as 
needful to success as along any other line of ef- 
fort, and he was always planning and working 
to that end. 

After the prayer, through which he held the 
minds of his congregation, he again read the 
story of the Prodigal Son. In the talk that 
followed he placed special emphasis on the love 
of the father and mother for their children, and 
especially for those who were disobedient and 
many times go far wrong. At its close he again 
told a story of a young man who at home was 
disobedient, disregarding his parents' entreaties, 
and rudely trampled under foot all their plans 
for his future, left his father's roof, his oppor- 
tunities, to associate with gamblers, drunkards 
and outlaws. His life was stormy, and when 
only twenty-six years of age he fell a victim to 
disease. His money was gone and he was in a 
strange land without friends. When all had 
failed him his thoughts turned back to the old 
home, and a vision of his kind father and lov- 
ing and devoted mother were before him. As 
he lay in pain and poverty, thinking of them, 
and how he had ruthlessly sacrificed their love 



80 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

for a life of ruin, he wept bitterly. With his 
feeble hands he wrote and told of his pitiable 
state. When the news from the wandering boy- 
reached the parents there was a hasty drive 
from the farm to the railroad, and a hurried 
trip half across the continent by the anxious 
father to reach his boy and carry him back to 
the old home. 

All were impressed with his story. The mis- 
sionary followed it up by stating that all men 
who were sinners, away from God, are in his 
sight like the young man who gave up his home 
and parents for the associations that led to his 
ruin. " You, like him, are prodigals, and God, 
like the earthly parent, is even more ready to 
save all men from their sins. That means 
You." 

The service lasted one hour and the mis- 
sionary occupied only twenty minutes in his 
talk. In that time he made a deep impres- 
sion on nearly every one. All that he said was 
simple and his illustrations were clear. There 
was no way of dodging the central truth. 
Some already felt, but would not admit it, that 
their own consciences were witnesses to the 
truth of what the missionary brought out in 
the story of the Prodigal Son. That they, 
in common with the whole community, were 
great sinners was frankly confessed in their 



THE FIRST SUNDAY IN MODOC 81 

hearts (secretly). How it would all end they 
did not know. The missionary had not 
pointed out the way by which they were to 
be saved. 



CHAPTER YIII 

THE LIFE OF A MISSIONARY 

The services during the week were unevent- 
ful. The old organ which had been set aside as 
useless was worked over and served a good pur- 
pose in the services. A young lady, Miss Effie 
Knox, who had taken music lessons while at- 
tending school at Tahlequah, agreed to serve as 
organist. By this arrangement quite a number 
were induced to join in the services, not as a 
select choir, but in general singing. 

After some experience with choirs, the mis- 
sionary abandoned that plan of promoting song 
services. He had noticed that it was often the 
case that the leaders of the community among 
the young people of both sexes were of the 
number who took active parts in choir singing. 
These leaders were very often unsaved persons. 
The choir was a protection to them. He had 
further observed that there was* a tendency in 
choirs to consider that they were exempt from 
all demands except to sing. Those who were 
religious would often claim exemptions for the 
reason that they served in the choir; the ir- 
religious would seek to justify themselves for 

82 



THE LIFE OF A MISSIONAKY S3 

not accepting the call of the minister for the 
same reason — that they were serving in the 
choir ; and some were found who went so far 
as to pretend that the sermons were not preached 
to those who led in the singing. 

The congregation and the people gradually 
settled down to a respectful attitude toward the 
missionary, but evidently that was as far as 
they expected to go. Harry Keith was the dis- 
cordant member of the neighborhood. The fact 
that the people had practically sided with the 
missionary had served to increase his bitterness 
toward the young man and the cause he repre- 
sented. While he sought to use discretion, 
hoping by that to gain some advantage, at 
times he would fling it to the winds and harshly 
condemn all who went to the meetings. This 
he seldom failed to do when a crowd of young 
people were gathered at the store. His criti- 
cisms served to intimidate them, which he knew 
would, in a measure, defeat the purposes of the 
meeting. Several times when the missionary 
stopped at the store the merchant would make 
statements by which he hoped to draw him into 
a discussion. But such had been studiously 
avoided. This also served to increase Keith's 
discomfort. 

Each day during the week visits were made 
to the homes in the surrounding country. It 



84 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

was a point with Haden Wilson to meet and 
talk with as many people as it was possible for 
him to do. And he always sought to get ac- 
quainted with the young men. 

It was the season of the year in that country 
when the prairie hay was being cut and shipped 
to market, or housed in barns. The work re- 
quired a large force, the greater number being 
young men. When Haden found a hay camp 
some time would be spent in meeting and get- 
ting acquainted with these young men. Several 
times during the week he rode with them to the 
barns or cars where the hay was stored or 
loaded for shipment. The fact that he would 
do that, and at noon, in the camp, take a tin 
plate loaded with food, a tin cup filled with 
water, and sit in a circle with the boys, eating 
as heartily as any of them, won for him an ad- 
miration and loyalty that not even Harry Keith 
could shatter with all his bitterness and intimi- 
dation. In the first week eighty-five visits 
were made to homes. 

The Christian worker who goes into rural 
sections where there are no pastors and churches 
assumes a great responsibility, as well as enjoys 
a great opportunity to aid others. One of the 
opportunities is that of visiting in the homes of 
the people. In this phase of service the labor- 
ers soon become experts. This is especially 



THE LIFE OF A MISSIONARY 85 

true in the rural districts where the people are 
not accustomed to receiving Christian workers. 
To go into a home where little or no attention 
is given to a religious life — and there are many 
such homes — say the right word, make those 
one meets feel glad that the worker came, and 
then leave before the visit becomes tiresome, is 
a delicate duty. It is to be regretted that this 
is a lost art with many good people who are 
seeking to work for Christ. Some feel that 
they are not called to that sphere of service, but 
the Apostle Paul, the prince of preachers, did 
not neglect " house to house visitation " as a 
most fruitful means of soul winning. 

In every community a number of well-de- 
fined and similar conditions exist which not 
only claim the attention of the Christian 
workers, but all others as well who are labor- 
ing for the elevation of the people. 

It is also a well-known fact that there is a 
striking similarity in those conditions in exten- 
sive regions of our country. It is true that 
some one condition may be more pronounced in 
a certain section than it is in a whole region, but 
there is, running through the whole, the similar- 
ity that is always noticeable to the close ob- 
server. 

To illustrate this — in all that region of the 
state of Oklahoma, which was once known as 



86 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

the Indian Territory of the five civilized tribes, 
the same destitution of religion and educational 
effort has for many years existed in the rural 
section, even where farming interests thrived. 
In the great black land belt of Texas this is 
also true. There, in many of the counties, from 
seventy to eighty per cent, of those who culti- 
vate the land are tenants, renting from year to 
year. The owners make their homes in the 
towns and cities. Schools and churches do not 
thrive under such conditions. The mountain 
regions of north Arkansas and southwest Mis- 
souri furnish another illustration of this state- 
ment. 

Haden Wilson made this observation early 
in his missionary life. The same general needs 
he found to be almost universal ; and so often 
came in touch with these, and similar demands, 
that he soon became an expert in sizing up a 
community, a family, and also the individual. 

Some of the crying defects which the mis- 
sionary had constantly observed in the rural 
districts were, on some farms, the constant ap- 
plication of grinding toil by every member of 
the family, with very little or no relief from 
the daily routine. There were no books and 
papers for the boys and girls ; meagre educa- 
tional environments in the few months of the 
district schools ; and possibly no attention 



THE LIFE OF A MISSIONARY 87 

given to the spiritual and religious side of life. 
Another was the great need of proper care of 
the homes. The water supply in many places 
was bad, full of germs, and allowed to continue 
so, year after year, as if forced upon the family 
by an inexorable law. The untidy, and to use 
terms which more fully describe what was 
meant, the dirty, filthy homes were, in the mis- 
sionary's mind, one of the greatest barriers to 
the proper development of a wholesome man- 
hood and womanhood in the country. 

Dirt and filth fostered where they should not 
exist are out of harmony with every law of 
God. No home can fulfil its mission where 
these discordant elements exist. By repeated 
observations Haden Wilson gathered indis- 
putable facts which showed a most striking 
difference in families — one grown up in a tidy, 
wholesome home, the other where dirt and filth 
hold sway. In the former is generally found 
well-cooked food, good books, papers, pictures 
and flowers. These are the natural accompani- 
ments of the neat, orderly home. They create 
environments which are conducive to a higher 
degree of intellectual, moral and spiritual de- 
velopment. In the latter, the absence of these 
creates environments which are conducive to 
the smallest degree of intellectual and spiritual 
growth. 



88 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

Before taking up the work at Modoc, Haden 
Wilson knew by abundant experience some- 
thing of what he would encounter in going into 
all classes of houses ; the poorest and also the 
well-to-do ; but in this work he tried to use 
good sense. Because a home was uninviting 
was to him no excuse for passing it by. It 
might be — and a number of times he found it 
so — the very place where he might render aid. 
While he was anxious to save souls, he was not 
so narrow as to believe that such great work 
could only be done by always emphasizing 
Christ's claim on the people's lives. To those 
buffeted about by the hard conditions of the 
world, such talk is often foolish. The wise 
worker soon finds another way to deal with 
and win the despondent and indifferent char- 
acters. In this Haden Wilson was successful. 
In hard conditions people crave sympathy, the 
one thing seldom given. Contact with people 
who have within their souls an unselfish sym- 
pathy has many times served to drive away 
dark clouds and frequently despair. The mis- 
sionary early learned this lesson in his mission- 
ary excursions. 

In taking up the work at Modoc, he began 
by showing the people by his life and associa- 
tion that he sought to fill his Master's mission 
by " going about doing good." This was soon 



THE LIFE OF A MISSIONARY 89 

realized in some of the most destitute homes on 
the outskirts of the community. In one he 
found a mother greatly afflicted, and arranged 
to aid her by explaining her destitution to some 
of the ladies attending the services, and they 
in turn gladly complied with his request. In a 
different direction, on the eastern border of 
the neighborhood, he found another destitute 
family. The father was greatly afflicted. Sev- 
eral times after the services the missionary vis- 
ited the poor man and administered to his com- 
fort by nursing and watching through the long 
vigils of the night. But death soon did its 
work. 

One morning after the missionary had been 
in the Modoc country for some time he was 
told that a man, who lived some miles away, 
was dying. Briefly stated, the man was a 
rough character ; like others, he had prided 
himself on defying God. He lived a reckless 
life and while still a young man, thirty-eight 
years of age, was dying. 

The missionary set out at once with a friend 
to visit the home. He found it as distressing 
as his imagination could picture. The man 
was still in his right mind, but was expected to 
pass away at any moment. The family of 
young children, the weeping wife, and several 
friends were gathered about the sufferer. Two 



90 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

stalwart, rugged men were on either side of the 
dying man when the missionary entered the 
home. The patient was appealing to them in 
turns to help him, and all that one would say 
was, " Be brave, Bill ; hold a stiff upper lip." 
And then the dying man would exclaim in 
wild, wearied agony : " I'm lost, Jim ! It 
won't do to die by." To this heart-rending 
wail, Jim would only say again, " Be brave, 
Bill ; hold a stiff upper lip." With a wail, 
" I'm lost, Jim ! " blended with the bitter sobs 
of his wife and children, his soul went out to 
meet its record in eternity. 

After entering the room, the missionary 
made an effort to get the man's attention, but 
he could do so only for a moment. The 
thought of his being lost had such mastery of 
his mind that no other impression could be 
made. 

The two friends who were seeking to comfort 
the dying man were those with whom he had 
covenanted to defy God, and demonstrated in 
death their faith by bravely meeting the issue. 
The first of the three to be summoned held out 
for a while, but as he approached the inevitable, 
his courage failed him and he died with the ex- 
clamation on his lips : " I'm lost, Jim ; it won't 
do to die by." 



CHAPTER IX 

A STRUGGLE — THUS FAR AND NO FARTHER 

Later in the week Harry Keith grew less 
pronounced in his opposition to the missionary, 
and to the meeting. This was in a degree the 
result of his failure to create a feeling against 
either. It did not mean that he was any the 
less opposed to the work, or any less deter- 
mined to silence the young missionary and send 
him out of the country with the condemnation 
of the people resting on him. 

Early in the week he got word to his bootleg- 
ger friend to be at the store on Saturday, ac- 
companied by a certain well-known character. 
So, early in the afternoon of that day the law- 
breaker was on hand in consultation with the 
merchant. The bootlegger had not failed to 
bring with him an abundant supply of his goods, 
and he was also accompanied by his companion, 
the well-known and wicked character. It was 
not unusual to see all these parties at Modoc, 
and therefore there was little suspicion of any 
unusual movement attached to their presence on 
that day. Late in the evening these men, with 

91 



92 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

Harry Keith as the central figure, held a secret 
caucus. 

The people assembled at the schoolhouse that 
night as usual. The songs and prayers had 
become interesting features of each service. 
Uncle Bill Finley prayed as he had never been 
heard to do before. He confessed his own weak- 
ness with such humility that every one had a 
sympathetic feeling for him. His shortcomings 
were known to his neighbors ; yet, despite these 
everybody knew he had a good heart, and that 
he was moved by a sincere desire for a pure and 
more helpful life. His plea also that night 
for his tormentors, the scoffers, and those who 
boldly defied the word of God was such as to 
touch the boldest of them. 

The song service, too, was more inspiring than 
usual. The missionary during the week had 
prevailed upon three of the young people, Ethel 
and Walter Holmes and Charlie Shoemaker, to 
join him in practicing a few special songs. One 
of them was, " Where Is My Boy To-night." 
With the aid of the leader the song had been 
fairly well prepared, and near the conclusion of 
that part of the service it was rendered by the 
quartette. Some strong, rough men in the con- 
gregation who had seen and witnessed much of 
the wicked side of life were moved to tears. 
The old Indian woman who occupied the same 



A STRUGC4LE 93 

seat that she selected the first night of the serv- 
ice was seen to brush the tears away as they 
trickled down her brown and withered cheeks. 

The missionary followed the song service with 
a twenty-minute talk about lost boys whom he 
had found ; some had been saved, others had re- 
jected the call to a better life. 

During the week Haden Wilson had empha- 
sized the importance of a Sunday-school. At 
this service he again dwelt upon its meaning to 
the community. The school was to be organized 
the following Sunday at nine-thirty in the morn- 
ing. 

The meeting closed. After consulting with 
several persons who had become attached to the 
missionary and also interested in the work, 
Haden, with these friends together, left the 
school building and walked to the store. It 
was suggested on the way that it was a surprise 
that the meeting was not disturbed. " Some of 
the worst characters in the country were at the 
store after dark," continued one of the party, 
"and all of them were drinking." When the 
missionary and his friends reached the store the 
same parties who had been referred to on the 
way were seen in the rear of the building, but 
did not show any inclination to recognize those 
who came in, although in former days they had 
consorted together as boon companions. 



94 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

Harry Keith was more friendly toward the 
young man that evening than usual. Upon his 
entering he greeted him in a good-humored 
manner, stating that there was mail in the office 
for him. After delivering some letters and 
papers, he sought to enter into a conversation 
by asking about the meeting. He also stated 
that he understood that Mike Masters had been 
quite sick all the week, and asked the mission- 
ary if he knew how he was getting along. 

" Mike has been a great sufferer this week," 
the young man replied. 

" So I have understood," said the merchant. 

"He was brutally treated last Saturday 
night," continued the young man. 

" He deserves no mercy — a man who will 
starve his family as he has done should be 
beaten," replied the merchant in some heat. 

" It is true," came back the young man, with 
a ringing emphasis in his voice, " he is a victim 
of his weakness and folly, but other men have 
no right to take advantage of them to gratify 
their own brutish natures." 

This last statement was a thrust the merchant 
was not looking for. He saw clearly its mean- 
ing and knew that he had done just what the 
young man had boldly declared should not be 
done. 

" That is the way with the world," replied 



A STRUGGLE 95 

the merchant, after a moment's reflection. " All 
of us are preying upon each other. The weak 
has to give way to the strong. It's every fel- 
low for himself, and that's the end of it." 

The merchant's reply was made with a view 
of leading the young man into a controversy on 
one phase of his arguments with which he felt 
very much at home. He was thoroughly self- 
ish and never tired of defending that sin by de- 
claring that it was the way with the world. 

The missionary saw at once his purpose. 
Looking at his watch he stated to the mer- 
chant that he would see him some other time, 
as he was under a promise to visit Mike that 
night. 

This statement seemed to please Harry Keith 
so much that he was glad to drop the discussion. 

" I hope you will find Mike better," he said 
in a tone that made one think of sounding 
brass. 

The missionary and several others left the 
store, he going to his room to look over his 
mail. With that completed he left the home, 
closing the door behind him, and walked 
slowly to the gate, where he paused. Looking 
toward the store he saw that it was still open, 
judging from the dim light visible from the 
rear window. As he caught the faint rays of 
the flickering lamp the thought of Harry Keith 



96 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

and his unreasonable opposition, and what it 
might mean to him, sent a chill through his 
body. After this short pause he walked down 
the road which led past the store on to Mike 
Masters' house. 

Mike had not recovered from his last spree 
as it had been hoped he would, and as he had 
usually done in the past. The present visit 
was the third one the missionary had made that 
week. 

Immediately after Haden Wilson and his 
friends had left the store there was a hurried 
consultation by the merchant and the men 
whom he had held in servile obedience during 
the last few hours. In a very short while these 
men left the store in haste, taking the road to 
the west, the same the missionary was to travel 
going to visit Mike. 

The distance of three-quarters of a mile 
brought them to a section of the road which ran 
through a grove of timber. A tiny stream, fed 
by a spring, a short distance from the highway, 
threaded its way to the south through this 
timber and small undergrowth. Where it 
crossed the road a bridge had been constructed, 
the span rising more than ten feet above the 
rippling streamlet and extending some distance 
on either side. 

During the summer there was a well-beaten 



A STRUGGLE 97 

foot-path which left the main road not more 
than a quarter of a mile from the store. It 
wound its way through the small groves, on by 
the spring, under the bridge and beyond, and 
finally merged into the main road again some 
distance to the west. This path was the favorite 
way of all who went that direction traveling on 
foot, for it afforded shelter from the scorching 
rays of the sun, and freedom from the dust in 
that season of the year. It was nearer also, 
and the fact that it led by the spring was a con- 
sideration. While to go that path required the 
pedestrian to cross two fences or open two wire 
gates, they willingly did that for one or all the 
advantages it afforded over the main traveled 
road. 

The band of men after leaving the store 
quickly made their way to this bridge, where 
all was dark and silent. The missionary, with- 
out knowing it, had given Harry Keith the 
information which he was most anxious to 
secure. 

The merchant felt sure that he would take 
the path and they were to seize him as he 
passed under the bridge, rush away to some 
secret place where he was to be forced under 
the threats of severe punishment to agree to 
leave the country at once and not return. He 
was to be escorted on his way by the two char- 



98 HADEX WILSON: MISSIONARY 

acters from Notava. These men were to see to 
it that he complied with every demand stipu- 
lated by Harry Keith. 

The men, still under the influence of liquor, 
and eager for the work of dealing with their in- 
nocent victim, waited with some impatience for 
the time when they would surprise the mission- 
ary and by this one act put an end to the work 
that threatened the supremacy of the merchant's 
power, and also the destruction of the boot- 
leggers' and gamblers' business. 

After the service that night, several of the 
young people went from the schoolhouse to 
Uncle Bill Finley's home to spend a while in 
friendly gossip ; Ethel Holmes and her brother, 
Walter, were among them. 

After remaining a short time the two started 
for their home. Walter was a young lad of 
sixteen years, and as he was ready to ride away 
in company with his sister he was called by 
some one of his companions. Ethel being famil- 
iar with the road, and not fearing the dark, 
gave her pony the reins and was soon out on 
the public road leading from the store to Mike 
Masters' home and on to the west. She was in 
a deep study and rode slowly and quietly, gaz- 
ing at the moon which would soon disappear be- 
hind the hills to the west. 

Before she reached the bridge the pony 



A STRUGGLE 99 

showed some signs of uneasiness, shying to one 
side and continuing in a frightened state. 
Ethel tightened her bridle reins and brought 
him to a still slower walk. As the bridge was 
approached the horse's fright increased, he 
showing an unwillingness to cross it. This 
was so rare with the pony the rider knew 
that something unusual had happened or might 
happen. She stopped and listened. Her alert 
ear caught the sound of human voices which 
came from under the bridge. What it all 
meant at first she did not know, but remember- 
ing that the path led beneath the structure, her 
first conclusion was that the voices were those 
of her neighbors. And then remembering that 
Haden Wilson was to visit Mike that night her 
second conclusion was that it was the missionary 
and some friend on their way to the sick man's 
house. 

Assuming that the latter surmise was correct, 
she waited for the parties to get from beneath 
the bridge, when she would continue on her 
journey. But they failed to move, and as she 
listened she detected a note of harshness that 
set her all alert. The pony, still frightened, re- 
fused to proceed. The rider leaned forward to 
listen, but could catch nothing but suppressed 
laughter and discordant sounds. And as they 
continued under the bridge she had the impres- 



100 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

sion that it meant danger. Her quick percep- 
tion soon discerned the whole truth. Like a 
flash it came into her mind that a band of 
desperate characters were at that moment 
waiting for Haden Wilson and would inflict 
upon him great violence. It was her next 
thought to save him from the mob. She was 
certain he would soon be on his way ; if he had 
not already left the public road and turned 
into the path that led by the spring under the 
bridge. 

The night was the 14th of August. The new 
moon was still shedding a dim golden light over 
the fields and prairies when Haden Wilson left 
his room and started to visit his friend Mike. 
A gentle breeze blew from the south. The 
russet blades of maturing corn waved a joyous 
welcome. The day had been hot ; the mercury 
had gone up beyond the one hundred mark. 
But with the coming of the night all nature had 
conspired to atone for the discomforts of the 
day just closed. 

The soul of Haden Wilson was attuned to 
the glad change and appropriated its share of 
peace and joy. He rejoiced in the hope of 
victory in sight for the cause to which he was 
unselfishly giving his life. He had noticed that 
evening, when he shook hands with a number 
of his congregation at the close of the service, 



A STRUGGLE 101 

that there was a suppressed and anxious feeling 
manifest in their countenances. As he walked 
along the quiet way he reviewed much of the 
week just passed. Without knowing it, he 
dwelt upon the almost pathetic look of Ethel 
Holmes as she took his hand that night. His 
mind lingered upon her searching and beautiful 
eyes, and as he did so a new symphony began 
to vibrate in his soul. Just how long this new 
found joy was allowed to live he never knew. 
But when he came to himself, and realized the 
spell and its charms, for the first time during 
many months he found he had allowed human 
love to take precedence over his Master's busi- 
ness. He was startled, and laid a firm hand, 
as it were, on himself and said, " Thus far and 
no farther." 

There were several reasons why Haden Wil- 
son so rudely suffocated this response of his 
soul to that of Ethel Holmes. The first, and 
only one that may be recorded here, was that 
back some years before, prior to his entering 
the missionary service, he had bound himself 
with a compact to which, up to that time, 
there was no key. It made no difference how 
the soul might beat against its prison bars, it 
was bound and chained as firmly by this com- 
pact as was Prometheus bound to his horrible 
fate. 



102 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

Ethel was a bright and beautiful girl of 
eighteen years. Her life on the farm was 
conducive to a perfect and well-developed 
body, good health and a wholesome tempera- 
ment. She was an expert in horseback riding. 
It was common for her to join in the wolf 
chase ; in a number of heated contests she had 
won the laurels. A ride of ten or fifteen miles 
across the prairies, to transact business for her 
father, or to visit a friend, was a matter of small 
consequence to Ethel. 

She had a good mother, and while the 
familv had been denied much that adds to 
spiritual and educational development, the 
mother, though pressed with a multitude of 
duties, was not indifferent to the proper moral 
training of her children. The coming of the 
missionary had encouraged her, and aided Ethel 
to understand more fully something of the 
Christian life ; but as yet she had made no 
public acknowledgment of her faith. 

That night as the full meaning of the danger 
to which Haden Wilson was exposed flashed 
through Ethel's mind, she came near swooning 
and falling to the ground. The thought that 
she might not be able to save him was excruciat- 
ing. If he had already left the road, and was 
on his way following the path, she saw how 
hopeless it would be to reach him before he 



A STRUGGLE 103 

was in the hands of the mob. As the full 
significance of it all came to her she turned her 
pony, facing the way she had come, and reached 
her hand out into the pale moonlight as it found 
its way among the giant and silent trees ; Ethel 
for the first time in her life realized what desti- 
nies a few moments might hold. At all hazard 
she must save him ; but she knew quick action 
was required. With this one thought dominat- 
ing every fibre of her being, she was not long 
in throwing herself into the work. 

Her pony, too, seemed to understand all that 
its rider discerned, for with a signal from Ethel 
he rushed back over the road as if he knew 
some great destiny was held in the space of a 
moment, and that moment depended on his 
speed. 

The distance was not far — only a half mile — 
and yet to Ethel it seemed an age before she 
reached the point where the familiar path left 
the road. When it was reached she stopped 
and cast an anxious and searching look over 
the prairie in the direction of the grove of tim- 
ber, through which she knew the path wound 
its way. But there was no one in sight. Per- 
haps, she reasoned, he is beyond the grove, and 
to reach him before he arrives at the bridge is 
uncertain. It would be necessary for her to 
dismount and open two gates; that would 



104 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

cause delay. It may be, she again reasoned, 
that he has not yet left his room ; but to wait, 
or go farther on toward the store to ascertain 
if that were true, would each moment lessen 
her chances to save him from the mob if he had 
really passed into the timber. " What shall I 
do?" she almost cried out, with her anxious 
gaze fixed on the road toward the store. 

At that moment a lone figure came into view. 
The relief and joy that came to her at the sight 
of it, for she knew it was the missionary, again 
almost overwhelmed her. Calling to her com- 
mand all her self-control, she waited for him to 
come up. 

Haden "Wilson was much surprised to see a 
lone figure, particularly a woman, on a pony in 
the road before him. All his plans and the 
glory of the night were forgotten. He knew 
it meant something unusual. As he came near 
he recognized Ethel. 

" Why, Ethel ! why are you here ? " he ex- 
claimed. 

" To save you from the hands of the mob." 
And she quietly related all she knew. 

"I am sure you are right, Ethel. I saw 
those men to-night and have been wondering 
what had become of them." 

" You must not go ; you won ? t go, will you ? " 
she pleaded in a trembling and choking tone. 



A STRUGGLE 105 

"You are a brave girl, Ethel, and I must 
listen to you ; but," he paused, " what must I 
do?" 

" You must not go," was her reply. 

" Ethel, I will go with you, and we together 
will cross the bridge." 

She paused. She thought of being with him 
at the scene of danger and a thrill of joy surged 
through her soul — if they had to face the worst 
she could share it with him. 

"All right," she said more cheerfully. "If 
you will let me go right along with you all the 
way to Mike's house." 

" You may do that, my dear girl," and the 
missionary felt the new joy again beat against 
the prison bars. 

Ethel alighted from her faithful pony and, 
gathering up the reins in one hand, she and the 
missionary took their way down the road which 
she had rushed over only a few moments before. 
"When the bridge was reached the pony was still 
uneasy, but did not refuse to follow. The mis- 
sionary and his companion walked slowly across 
the bridge, and as they did so Haden was 
charmed more than ever with the bravery and 
marked self-possession which Ethel commanded. 
After crossing they paused to listen. The same 
discordant sounds could be heard, and both 
knew that it was the mob. The home of Mike 



106 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

Masters was soon reached, and Ethel, bidding 
the young man good-night, mounted her pony 
to ride away to her home. She refused to allow 
the missionary to accompany her. 

" I can outrun the whole bunch," she laugh- 
ingly said, " but it isn't me they want." 

Before riding away, however, she paused as 
she started to bid him good-night, and then 
said, " You will stay all night with Mike, won't 
you ? " It was the same pleading, anxious tone, 
and the missionary knew full well what it 
meant. 

" I will stay till morning, Ethel. I will not 
give them a chance to get me." 

" Good-night," she said, and rode away at a 
swift gallop. 



CHAPTER X 

THE FIEST SUNDAY-SCHOOL IN MODOO 

Sunday morning brought with it the promise 
of a beautiful day. But the minds of many of 
the citizens of Modoc were not in harmony with 
the lovely promise. "What had been attempted 
the night before was soon known throughout 
the vicinity. As the full significance of the 
purpose of the mob dawned upon the minds of 
the people, some became indignant. Other 
facts than those which Ethel Holmes and the 
missionary knew developed during the night. 
The men, after waiting some time for their 
victim, became very impatient, drank heavily, 
and soon lost the discretion necessary to guard 
their secret — the dark mission which might 
end in murdering an innocent man. The des- 
peradoes' disappointment resulting from the 
failure to apprehend their prey was so great 
that it culminated in a disagreement among 
themselves. A fight ensued in which some of 
the men were unmercifully beaten. 

Harry Keith was notified of the failure and 
also of the fight which served as an exhaust for 

107 



108 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

the concentrated villainy of the outlaws. While 
he again felt outraged at the results, the mer- 
chant knew that it would not do to abandon 
his men. So when they made their way back 
to the store he took charge of those who had 
suffered most in the battle under the bridge 
and called the doctor to administer to their 

miserable plight. Those coming from N 

he arranged to send away, for he understood 
that there might come a limit to the patience 
of the people toward such vile characters. 

The citizens in discussing the matter that 
morning at the post-office expressed the belief 
that the time had come when such attempts at 
mob violence should stop. Some stated that 
while they did not take much stock in the work 
and plans of the missionary, yet they were will- 
ing to stand for a change in the community ; 
but no definite plans resulted from the discus- 
sions of the events of the night before. Strong 
indignation, however, was expressed toward 
Harry Keith, whom it was generally believed 
was at the head of the whole affair. But that 
citizen was nowhere to be seen. The store re- 
mained closed during the entire day. 

After it was found that no definite plans 
would be formulated to vindicate the mission- 
ary, the matter was gradually dropped by those 
w r ho had gathered at the store with the under- 



FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL IK MODOC 109 

standing that they would attend the services 
and hear what the young man would have to 
say ; for they felt that such an affair, one so 
vitally concerning hini, would not pass un- 
noticed by the missionary. 

By nine o'clock there was a bevy of children 
gathered at the schoolhouse. Some of them 
were quite timid and reserved. Their little 
shy faces and shabby clothes were mute appeals 
to Haden Wilson. To him they were eloquent 
witnesses of the homes from which the children 
came. 

Gentle reader, have you ever stood before an 
assembly of children gathered from the homes 
which make the community, in the city, town, 
hamlet or the remotest districts, and studied 
them as the interpreters of their homes ? It is 
here that the trained worker for the uplifting 
of humanity can make his observations which 
may be relied on as surely reflecting the char- 
acters of the homes relative to intellectual 
development and moral and religious culture, 
as can the sailor by his observation of the stars 
determine his position on the high seas. 

Since it was Haden Wilson's special mission 
to labor in the most destitute sections, he ap- 
plied himself with great care to the study of 
the people, and especially so as touching their 
intellectual, moral and spiritual environment. 



110 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

By numerous tests he found where a com- 
munity or section of long standing had neg- 
lected religious culture that there was a cor- 
responding lack of intellectual development. 
He also found, by facts gathered from a num- 
ber of communities in which the agricultural 
lands were equal in fertility if not superior to 
others which he had selected for comparison, 
that where the spiritual culture of the children 
was neglected the leading citizens were careless 
of their religious obligations ; the church and 
Sunday-school were regarded with great indif- 
ference ; there were fewer well-kept homes and 
farms; the public schools were of inferior 
grade, and the public roads were of the poorest 
type. 

It was further discovered that of those who 
were prosecuted for crimes in the courts in the 
counties where these investigations were made, 
that the communities which neglected the relig- 
ious training of the children furnished ninety 
per cent, more of the criminals than those 
where it was sought properly to train them. 
This was found to be true, although the latter 
communities contained a larger population than 
the former. These facts had been burned, as 
it were, into the life of Haden Wilson, since in 
a number of instances he had been forced to 
witness the consequences of such awful neglect. 



FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL IN MODOC 111 

On one of the missionary excursions he went 
into a cabin where there were six children. 
All surroundings were repulsive, but the par- 
ents seemed oblivious to what such a condition 
meant to them or to their children. Neither 
father nor mother read books or papers — there 
were none in the home — and manifested no 
interest in God's word nor the religious or the 
intellectual culture of their children. 

In this home there was a girl sixteen years 
of age. She was a stepdaughter to the man. 
The girl was well developed physically for one 
of her years, yet she was very indifferent to 
her untidy appearance. She was asked by the 
missionary if she had a Bible. Her reply was 
" No," but she stated, " I want to go to school 
and learn to read, so I can get one." This girl 
and the other children appeared eager to join 
the Sunday-school which was to be organized 
only two miles from their home, but the par- 
ents gave them no encouragement. 

These and many other experiences had made 
a deep impression on Haden Wilson's life and 
served to increase his efforts in trying to bring 
an uplifting message to every community and 
to impress upon the child life a lasting picture 
of the beautiful and good. Fully mindful of 
his responsibility, it was with no small degree 
of interest that he looked into the faces of the 



112 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

young people and children of Modoc on that 
Sunday morning. "While I may," he often 
said, " reform to a degree some of the lives of 
the adults, it is the lives of the children I want 
to form in harmony with the beautiful and 
good." 

The eager faces and bright eyes were an 
eloquent welcome to the missionary as he faced 
them to open the service. All the children 
were soon sure that they had in him a friend, 
and their timidity was soon forgotten. 

The first act of the missionary, after a short 
prayer, was to unfold a picture and place it 
where every one could see it. The picture was 
a large and attractive one — that of the Saviour 
blessing the little ones. He told the story how 
he then loved little children, and of his great 
love for them at the present time. The talk 
was brief and he closed by asking how many 
wanted a Sunday-school where all could learn 
about such a Saviour and Friend. Every one 
present lifted a hand. 

It had been one of the missionary's special 
purposes during the week to find a suitable 
person for superintendent. He had also been 
careful to look for those who were fitted for 
teachers. This is one of the most difficult 
tasks of the Sunday-school missionary. In fact, 
to secure competent teachers and officers is the 



FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL IN MODOC 113 

greatest problem in any Sunday-school, even in 
those where there are many consecrated Chris- 
tians. When the reader understands this he or 
she is better prepared to appreciate the many 
embarrassing difficulties the Sunday-school 
worker is forced to meet and overcome in the 
rural districts where there has not been, perhaps 
in many years, any special effort given to such 
training. 

The missionary had been careful to complete 
his list of officers and teachers. None of them, 
however, were trained workers, but each one 
had been selected with a hope of their being 
developed into a reasonable degree of efficiency. 

When the vote was taken favoring the Sun- 
day-school, Haden Wilson was ready to proceed 
at once to the organization. The officers were 
not arbitrarily chosen by him. Some of the 
people had been consulted as to the fitness of 
those he had listed. With very little prelimi- 
naries he proceeded to the selection of the super- 
intendent and other officers. Names had been 
previously suggested and were now voted on by 
the school. 

Following the election of officers came 
the arranging of classes. Four had been 
planned. For that purpose those of certain 
ages were divided into groups. For each class 
the missionary suggested the name of a teacher, 



114: HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

which was readily accepted. While this method 
of arranging classes according to the ages of the 
pupils may not be the best, Haden Wilson had 
found it to be the most satisfactory in his work. 
It is proper to follow some such method until 
the school can be properly graded. It can be 
readily understood that in the country where 
the people have had no experience in such work 
the missionary had good reasons for assuming 
so much. The responsibility of the whole rested 
upon him. He possessed large experience ; had 
studied the local conditions, and was better fitted 
to direct the organization than any one else. 

After the organization of the Sunday-school, 
arrangements w^ere made for literature, Bibles, 
song-books, papers for the children, and a 
library. The latter the missionary insisted 
upon, and donated half the price of thirty 
volumes. 

Mrs. Holmes, Ethel's mother, was selected for 
the superintendent. It had been found by the 
missionary that she was held in high esteem by 
all her neighbors and was regarded as a conse- 
crated Christian by those who had thought on 
the subject. Without any suggestion whatever 
on the part of the missionary in the canvass to 
find a suitable person for superintendent, her 
name was more often mentioned than all others 
combined. With these assurances of the con- 



FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL IN MODOC 115 

fidence of her neighbors, the missionary placed 
the matter before Mrs. Holmes, whom he had 
already found to be an intelligent lady and one 
who also enjoyed a Christian experience. At 
first she could not bring herself to the point of 
accepting the responsibility, but after two days 
of reflection and prayer, she agreed to take up 
the work. On that morning she w r as present, 
ready to make some sacrifice of her home 
duties for the sake of others. Her daughter, 
Ethel, was elected to serve as secretary and 
treasurer. 

The missionary placed in the hands of each 
officer and teacher a small book, the title of 
which was, " The Sunday-School — How to Start 
and Keep It." Lesson supplies for the re- 
mainder of the quarter and picture cards were 
furnished each of the scholars. The latter 
greatly delighted the smaller children, as their 
sparkling eyes indicated. 

All this work was accomplished in a compar- 
atively short time. Every one present entered 
heartily into the plans. A good start had been 
made and the school dismissed at ten minutes 
before eleven o'clock. 

The eleven o'clock service was well attended, 
the house being comfortably filled. More citi- 
zens than usual were present. Some, however, 
were not there with a view of being benefited, 



116 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

but with the expectation of hearing the mission- 
ary arraign Harry Keith and his intended mob 
violence. But in this they were disappointed. 

The song service was much better than 
usual ; the week's training had resulted in much 
improvement. After the second song had been 
rendered, Mr. Webb, who had stated that morn- 
ing that he did not take much stock in the 
young man's work, showed surprise as he leaned 
over and whispered to his neighbor, Sharp, " I 
did not know that they were learning to sing 
so well. I am proud of our girls and boys." 

" I should say so," replied Mr. Sharp. " All 
they need is a chance ; but we are just begin- 
ning to see that since Mr. Wilson came." 

The Scripture lesson was from Luke 16 : 
19-31, the story of Lazarus and the lost rich 
man. When the reading of the lesson was 
completed, and the missionary faced his au- 
dience to present his message, he never felt be- 
fore so completely his own weakness. There 
were lost men before him, and it was the mis- 
sionary's first chance to bring them the mes- 
sage of salvation. He was almost helpless in 
the face of so great a responsibility. In that 
moment he paused and mentally said, " Lord, 
the work is all thine. I am in myself power- 
less. Help me." He was conscious that his 
message must be simple and also convincingo 



FIRST SUNDAY-SCHOOL IK MODOC 117 

As he proceeded to relate the story of the lost 
man in his own language, there came to him a 
fuller meaning of what the Master meant, and 
with it increased power to present it. In his 
application of the lesson, a more powerful 
vision of the lost gripped him than he had ever 
known before. 

The missionary's intense interest won the 
people. Those who heard him for the first 
time were amazed at his words, as he pictured 
the doomed man in eternity with no plea to 
justify himself. " We do not know what were 
all the sins of the rich man," he exclaimed, 
" but we do know that he refused to acknowl- 
edge God, and for that sin he went to the place 
of torment. 

" If you, my friends, are guilty of that sin 
to-day you are lost already as surely as that man 
was lost." 

" My God ! " exclaimed a voice in the con- 
gregation. 

" But there is a difference. The door of hope 
was shut against the rich man. While you are 
lost, the door of hope has not been closed 
against you. Christ is still seeking you, as did 
the loving shepherd his lost lamb. If you ac- 
cept Christ you are saved. He must be first 
in your heart, your home, your business. 
When that is true there will be no longer plot- 



118 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

ting against innocent men; drunken revelries 
will be unknown ; your young men will be 
saved from dissipation and blaspheming against 
God, and the intimidation of those who believe 
on his name will cease." 

Young Wilson knew this moment was a 
crisis in the lives of some present. Following 
a brief pause, he continued : " As many as feel 
that they are lost, but who want to be saved 
from the punishment described by the Saviour 
of men, I will ask them to stand up." The 
congregation arose almost as one man. Webb 
and Sharp were among the first to stand. All 
faced the missionary in silence; some with 
blanched faces. " Those who feel that they 
cannot save themselves, but will trust in Jesus 
Christ for salvation, I will ask you, while we 
sing, to give me your hand as an evidence of 
your willingness to trust him." " Just As I 
Am " was started by the missionary. He was 
joined at once by those who had seats near the 
organ. This phase of the service was intro- 
duced with hardly a pause, the missionary still 
retaining control of the congregation. The old 
Indian woman was the first to respond, but in- 
stead of kneeling, she took her stand near the 
missionary and looked steadily out over her 
neighbors. There was a tremor on her lips, 
and tears were in her eyes. The missionary 



F1KST SUNDAY-SCHOOL IN MODOC 119 

pleaded with the people as the song proceeded ; 
others came ; a few were overwhelmed with 
deep conviction and could not face the congre- 
gation, but knelt where they were, giving 
themselves up to weeping. Plea after plea was 
made for the men to decide, but with ashen 
faces the most of them held back. The mis- 
sionary sang the first verse of " All To Jesus I 
Surrender." At its close he said to those 
kneeling, "While we sing these lines again I 
want you to make them your prayer, and if 
you can surrender your life to him rise and 
give me your hand. If there are others out 
there in the congregation who can surrender 
all, do it now." 

When the chorus was reached, Ethel Holmes, 
who had been singing, gave the missionary her 
hand, saying, " I surrender all." Her face was 
radiant with the new joy. The old Indian 
woman was moved, and the two were in each 
other's arms. Others arose from their knees, 
and as they did so a great burden seemed to 
roll away, and there was rejoicing and gladness 
in their voices. The missionary still pleaded 
with those in the congregation to come. The 
chorus was repeated again and again while he 
stood with outstretched arms pleading for the 
men to surrender, but they would not. 

The service closed, and the missionary with 



120 II ADEN WILSON: MISSION AKY 

many others went away with heavy hearts. 
True he rejoiced that some accepted Christ, but 
he knew that men had been moved upon by the 
Holy Ghost to give up their sinful ways. That 
they would not do it gave the devil another 
chance to force them farther away, and maybe 
to open opposition. Also the refusal of older 
men to acknowledge Christ definitely served to 
keep back those who were much younger. 



CHAPTEE XI 

THE OLD INDIAN WOMAN 

That afternoon following the meeting at the 
schoolhouse the missionary called on the old 
Indian woman and inquired what she meant by 
taking the stand she did at the services that 
morning. In response she replied : " Me want 
to be Christian." 

" Do you mean that you fully surrender to 
Christ, and that your sins are forgiven ? " 

"Me did." 

" Since you have done that how do you feel ? " 
he asked, knowing it was a test question, and he 
was sure that she would give an honest answer. 

" Me feel better," came a ready response. 

" How do you feel better ? " he asked. 

" Me do not want to do things me did." 

" What things ? " 

" Me do not want cuss. Me want do things 
for Lord Jesus Christ," and placing her hand 
over her heart, she said, " Peace, rest." 

That testimony was given in no tone of doubt, 
and her black, piercing eyes, glowing with 
peace and joy, were enough to convince the mis- 
sionary that she had been born again. He knew 

121 



122 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

that an unlettered woman sixty years of age 
could not and would not feign such a change. 

Another instance in which a deaf and unlet- 
tered Indian showed the remarkable power and 
leading of the Holy Spirit made a vivid and last- 
ing impression on Haden "Wilson. The name of 
the Indian was Miller. He was forty years of age. 
His lot had been a hard one, resulting largely 
from the loss of his hearing in childhood. Al- 
though he still, to a limited degree, retained and 
used his voice, his manner of communication was 
generally by physical signs, but he had learned 
partly to interpret the speech of others by the 
movement of their lips. In this he sometimes 
surprised his associates by his accurate interpre- 
tations. Miller had no knowledge of books, 
having never learned to read. At the time the 
missionary first visited Modoc he was living 
with a family whose home was not more than a 
mile from the schoolhouse, earning his board and 
a small payment of money by aiding in the nu- 
merous duties incident to farm life. The family 
was kind to him and he generally came with 
them to the services at the schoolhouse. He al- 
ways took a seat near the missionary and ap- 
peared to be as deeply interested in every phase 
of the service as if he could hear and under- 
stand all that was said. The missionary noted 
this interest and often showed his appreciation 



THE OLD INDIAN WOMAN 123 

of Miller's presence by some mark of kindness. 
At one time the missionary mentioned the mani- 
fest interest of the Indian to Mr. and Mrs. Jones, 
in whose home he was staying. They, too, had 
observed it. As a further evidence of his inter- 
est, Mrs. Jones mentioned the fact that he was 
always anxious to get the family started to the 
services. That they might do so he often as- 
sisted by doing an extra amount of chores about 
the place. But the fact that he could not read 
and was also deaf had led the parties to conclude 
that his interest was prompted by the social 
feature which the meeting afforded, and with 
this conclusion the matter was dismissed. 

One evening, during the second week of the 
meeting, the missionary took supper with the 
family in whose home Miller was staying. As 
his custom was, Haden Wilson left near sun- 
down to walk alone to the schoolhouse. The 
best and nearest way to reach this was a foot- 
path which led across the prairie through a pas- 
ture. The sun had just set — the golden west 
had never appeared more glorious. As the twi- 
light gathered over the prairie the missionary 
hurried along the path, deeply absorbed in his 
plans for the service. Looking ahead, he was 
surprised to see at some distance beyond his In- 
dian friend Miller. 

He was standing in the path with his face 



124 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

turned to the west, apparently contemplating 
its glory and beauty. While the missionary 
knew that the person in the path before him 
was Miller, yet his appearance was so strange 
and unusual the young man stopped short to 
contemplate his striking figure. The lone In- 
dian, as he stood like a statue gazing into the 
golden west, brought back to the missionary the 
memory of his boyhood days when he had com- 
mitted to memory and declaimed in the little 
country school, " The Lone Indian — His Last 
Appeal to the White Man." But to pause and 
rush back over the past years, to days free from 
care, was only for a moment. That which 
tempted his imagination was a subject for art- 
ists and poets and not for a missionary whose 
life was crowded with sterner things. He has- 
tened on to meet the Indian, who turned from 
his contemplation of distant scenes and looked 
steadily at Haden Wilson as he came near. 

" Hello, Jim," the missionary said, extending 
his hand, which was clasped warmly by Miller. 
Continuing to hold the young man's hand, he 
said : " Me want be baptized." 

This statement greatly surprised young Wil- 
son. He was also perplexed since he could not 
communicate with the man before him. 

" Others be baptized ; me want be baptized." 

The missionary's perplexity grew, but sud- 



THE OLD INDIAN WOMAN 125 

denly remembering that Miller could under- 
stand to a degree the movements of the lips, he 
gently placed one hand on his shoulder, and 
touching his lips with the other, said : " Do 
you love Jesus ? " 

" Me do," came a ready response, and placing 
one hand on his breast the Indian continued, 
" Me love Jesus." Moving his hand from his 
breast to his eyes, covering them, he said, 
" Blind." Then waving his hand toward the 
west, he exclaimed, " Now me see ! " 

To the missionary these signs and words 
meant " I was blind, but now I see." 

The young man was greatly moved at what 
he discovered, and standing close to Jim in the 
gathering twilight, said slowly : " I will baptize 
you." 

The Indian indicated clearly that he under- 
stood, and again placing his hand on his breast, 
said : " Heap good, heap good." 



CHAPTEE XII 

VICTORY AND FAILURE 

The services on Sanday night were more 
largely attended than any thus far held. A 
number from adjoining communities were there 
for the first time. Every available space in the 
little schoolhouse was filled. The song serv- 
ice was again entered into with a good will. 
After singing several selections the missionary 
announced that he would give a few minutes 
to Scripture quotations, insisting on all to re- 
spond by repeating a verse from the Bible or 
Testament. This had been done several times 
before, and a number now readily arose and re- 
peated verses from the Bible. This phase of the 
service had also become so interesting that some 
of the roughest men of the neighborhood re- 
peated Scripture quotations with evident satis- 
faction. The missionary had noted this growing 
interest and sought to encourage it. He had 
repeated several times at the beginning of the 
service the First and Twenty-third Psalms, and 
had the people to follow him in concert. In 

126 



VICTORY AND FAILURE 127 

this way quite a number had learned both. At 
this service the Psalms were repeated with a 
greater degree of willingness than had formerly 
been shown. All who took part arose to their 
feet. 

When Hugh Crane arose there was a degree 
of merriment shown by some in the congrega- 
tion. In his efforts to rise there was a disturb- 
ance sufficient to destroy the solemnity of an 
average congregation, but when he felt fully 
sure that he was on his feet his first perform- 
ance was forgotten in what followed. Hugh 
Crane was the owner of a voice of immense 
volume. It was declared by his neighbors that 
he had been heard five miles when calling hogs. 
In ordinary conversation he had never practiced 
the art of subduing his vocal organs to an aver- 
age conversational tone, and when excited it at 
once leaped to a high key, with volume in pro- 
portion. On the present occasion his composure 
was somewhat disturbed, as he proceeded in a 
voice that startled those who did not fully un- 
derstand what might be expected. He began : 
" The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 
He leadeth me through his still waters, he 
maketh me lie down in his cool shades," end- 
ing with an emphasis on cool shades that made 
one think of Texas blizzards. 

The congregation was amused. Several knew 



128 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

that the quotation was not right ; others under- 
stood that something was wrong, but did not 
know what, and amid the smiles of the congre- 
gation Hugh Crane took his seat with no less 
disturbance than when he arose. 

During this same service another quotation 
was given which amused the missionary. Two 
citizens sat side by side ; one of them had given 
a Scripture quotation ; the other was evidently 
anxious to say something, but could not recall 
a statement from the Bible, as the missionary 
judged from his looks. He leaned over to his 
friend and said something. The friend answered 
back by whispering in his ear. It was no doubt 
a proper quotation as he thought. Then he 
arose and said : " Be sure you are right, then 
go ahead. " 

There was nothing unusual by way of a dis- 
turbance in the services that followed. A 
strong appeal was made for men to decide for 
Christ. Several came forward to the front for 
prayer, but others, whose appearance showed 
that they were struggling to resist the Spirit, 
held back. The same parties were present who 
attended the morning services and listened 
eagerly to every word of the preacher, but they 
would not move. 

One man said to the missionary at the close : 
" I know I am a bad man, but as long as you 



VICTORY AITO FAILURE 129 

pray for me as you do, I feel like I will not be 
lost." 

One interesting feature of the meeting that 
night was the response of Mrs. Harry Keith 
and her two daughters to the request that every 
one who wanted to take a definite stand for 
Christ to come forward and take their places 
on the little platform. Mrs. Keith appeared 
very determined and stated to the missionary 
at the close of the service that she had fully de- 
cided to do her duty. Her daughters appeared 
to be as determined as their mother. 

The fact that the mother and daughters at- 
tended the meeting caused a disturbance in the 
home. Harry Keith stormed and raged, but 
with all he could say and do, he could not keep 
his family from attending the services. 

Mrs. Keith was an intelligent woman, one- 
eighth Indian. Her two daughters, young 
ladies eighteen and twenty years of age, had 
spent several years in the Tribal Seminary at 
Tahlequah and also were intelligent, and pos- 
sessed a degree of culture that was far beyond 
that of the average young lady of that section. 
In discussing the matter of attending the serv- 
ices, and fully becoming a Christian, Mrs. Keith 
had made it clear to her husband that while 
she was glad to cooperate with him in most 
instances, she would not allow him to dictate 



130 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

to her as to religious matters, and then pro- 
ceeded to do what she felt was her religious 
duty. All that Keith could do was to rail 
at the missionary and the meeting. He had 
learned by sad experience that it was better for 
him to respect the wishes of his wife, but that 
did not go to the extent of altogether stopping 
his vile and blasphemous utterances against the 
Bible, the missionary and the present meeting. 
However, on Monday it was clear that he had 
decided not to show his aggressive opposition 
so definitely as he had the last few days. 

The meeting was the general topic for con- 
versation with those who gathered at the store 
on Monday morning. Nothing like it had been 
known in that section. It also had the good 
effect to encourage a number of men to come 
out definitely and declare their belief in the 
Bible and their faith in religion. 

These men had for years been intimidated by 
Harry Keith's bold and aggressive stand against 
both. In doing so, that is, in taking such a 
stand, more than one citizen experienced great 
relief. During the week the discovery was 
made that several citizens of the community, 
before moving from their native states — some 
from Tennessee, others from Missouri and Ar- 
kansas — were members of some church and 
lived reasonably consecrated and religious lives 



VICTORY AND FAILURE 131 

in their earlier days. "Why they did not con- 
tinue their allegiance to their Master and church 
is well known to every Christian worker in the 
great Southwest. The homeseekers go into 
the new regions to open up farms and build 
their homes, and the toil is so great and such 
a heavy tax upon their mental and physical 
powers that many lose sight of their spiritual 
obligations. While they who move to new 
countries know the need of religious training, 
for themselves and also for their children, they 
are very largely disqualified on account of the 
manifold duties incident to building their new 
homes. The lack of organization and intelligent 
ministers as leaders result in the loss of interest 
on the part of the citizens, and the children 
grow up without any training along the line of 
Christian effort. 

While our churches see this situation, it is 
seen through a glass darkly. They have looked 
at it, but their money, energy and brains have 
been absorbed in other fields. When the 
church comes really to understand this great 
question we term " Home Missions," see it face 
to face, and is moved by the prospect of such a 
wonderful opportunity, then it will be that the 
real work of winning this nation and the world 
for Christ will begin. 

The interest in the meeting continued ; early 



132 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

in the week the missionary decided that he 
would make Wednesday evening the decision 
service, and planned everything to that end. 
For several days a large number of young men 
had attended regularly. They were already 
convinced that they should give up a life of 
sin. In private conversation with the mission- 
ary they did not hesitate to say as much. The 
greatest sins of these young men were profanity, 
gambling, and drunkenness ; the most of them 
would occasionally get drunk and some would 
gamble. To reach them on that night the mis- 
sionary was concentrating all his powers. But 
he did not know that other influences were at 
work to defeat all that he might do. 

When Haden Wilson went to the school- 
house on Wednesday evening he was surprised 
to see so few of the young men present. Parties 
to whom he spoke about their absence were also 
surprised, and could not account for it, unless 
it was that the bootleggers had returned. 
Young Wilson was greatly depressed at that 
surmise. He had counted on winning a great 
victory in that service, and to have his plan 
spoiled by the cunning devices of such lawless 
men distressed and discouraged him. If he 
failed, he would lose much, and the devil, and 
those in the community who rejoiced to see the 
devil win, would gain a great victory. The 



VICTORY AND FAILURE 133 

missionary reproached himself for not spending 
the day in closer personal touch with the young 
men. But at that hour it was too late. If 
the wicked one was abroad in the community, 
sowing his seed, he had by that time found his 
victims. Besides, at that moment, Wilson had 
no idea where the young men were. He had 
noticed as he came by the store that it seemed 
deserted. The service proceeded at the proper 
time, but it was lacking in the buoyancy that 
had marked all the former meetings. 

The missionary was not the only one who felt 
that there was something wrong. As Ethel 
Holmes took her place by the organ she said 
she felt like some of their sheep were lost, and 
that she would like to go out and hunt them. 
The suggestion that the boys had gone some- 
where to engage in a drunken carousal was be- 
lieved by all. By the time the service had ad- 
vanced to the beginning of the sermon a young 
man, who had been faithful in his attendance at 
all the meetings, came in and whispered to his 
nearest friend that he had just left the boys at 
the old Barnett house. 

The missionary devoted twenty minutes to 
his talk in which he took up the theme of the 
lost lamb. At the close he emphasized the fact 
that the shepherd did not abuse his lamb or 
talk ugly to it when he found it. " Jesus was 



134 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

always kind and patient with his erring children. 
He wants to win them back when they go 
wrong, but not by harsh means." 

The talk was touching. It proceeded from a 
full heart and it found its way to others who 
felt the same burden. All knew what was on 
the mind and heart of the missionary, and 
some present felt such pity for him that they 
wept when he poured out his heart in prayer at 
the close for the boys and young men. 

After the congregation was dismissed it was 
learned that a barrel of bottled beer had been 
delivered at an old vacant house one mile east 
of the store and about the same distance from 
the tank. Tickets for free beer had been 
quietly passed around to the boys during the 
day. 

It had been the custom of many in the com- 
munity who drank to buy a quantity of such 
goods and collect at a convenient place and 
drink, gamble, and often fight. For the past 
ten days there had been little drinking, and 
each day a number were getting farther away 
from the habit. On the Saturdav before the 
refusal of some to drink and others to buy was 
the handwriting on the wall. 

Harry Keith conceived a new plan to carry 
out his opposition. It was to give the boys a 
free spread, as he called it, consisting of beer, 



VICTORY AND FAILURE 135 

some stale cheese and fruifc. The beer, and also 
the spread, were mentioned in such tempting 
and confidential way that it appealed to the ap- 
petites of all those who had not become tee- 
totalers. Some, it is true, had fully decided to 
give up the habit ; however, the social gather- 
ing had been such a common thing in the com- 
munity, especially the beer drinking, that many 
of the young men decided to go, not thinking 
nor understanding fully what it all meant ; that 
it was a scheme of Harry Keith's to destroy the 
effects of the missionary's work. 

The boys were there, the beer flowed freely. 
It was not long before its effects were felt. 
Bitter oaths were handed about. As the beer 
disappeared, violent discussions arose — much of 
it about the missionary and the meeting. Both 
were condemned by some. Others stoutly de- 
fended each. 

An improvised platform was erected. As 
names were called the party was expected to 
appear on the platform and make a speech. If 
he failed to do so he was fined the sum of one 
dollar. This sum was to go to the beer fund. 
Some responded and others refused. Still 
others tried, but failed, because of one of two 
things — either too much beer or not sufficient 
knowledge. The fines were collected. By the 
time the beer was consumed the crowd was 



136 HADEK WILSON: MISSIONAKY 

boisterous and could be heard a mile away. 
Bad tempers were developing in not a few. 
Violent language was used freely, and a gen- 
eral fight was close at hand. That was soon 
brought on between Jake Smith and Pete Jones. 
Others took up the quarrel, each defending his 
man as champion. An all round fight was on, 
and soon the whole room was a seething, curs- 
ing, bleeding humanity. Some were sober 
enough to find the door and escape. The fight 
ended and the crowd dispersed. Many of 
them left the cabin and the scene of their 
debauchery with skinned noses, black eyes and 
bleeding faces. 

The next morning Harry Keith was greatly 
rejoiced. He gloated over the reports of the 
spread. He would exclaim: "That fixes the 
preacher. I guess he will find he will have to 
go." Addressing a crowd, he said several 
times : " Now you boys can see his preaching is 
all bosh ; it won't stick when there is beer in 
sight," and then he would laugh boisterously. 

Many of the boys did not let themselves be 
seen the following day. Those who went out 
bore ample marks of what had happened the 
night before. The few that the missionary was 
able to find showed embarrassment. But he 
swept everything aside and let them know that 
they were missed at the service, also that they 



VICTORY AKD FAILURE 137 

were wanted back. The next day, Friday, lie 
managed to see and talk with quite a number 
of them. That night more were present, but 
others were still out. 

On Saturday morning three of the boys 
came to the missionary as a committee, rep- 
resenting a number of others, and stated that 
they were sorry for what they had done. " Be- 
fore that night," they said, "it had not oc- 
curred to us how bad it was to engage in such 
conduct. We know you are here to help us, 
and we feel that we have not treated you right, 
and we want to ask your pardon for all the 
boys." 

The gentlemanly statement was gladly ac- 
cepted and the boys were assured that it was a 
manly step. He again insisted on all of them 
coming back to the services. 



CHAPTEE XIII 

THE LAMBS AND THE WOLVES 

The following Sunday was the missionary's 
last day in this community. His anxiety about 
the result grew each hour. He was on his 
guard to shield the boys against the bootlegger, 
should he again come into the community. He 
planned to get information as to whether or not 
he was expected to return. Ed Crockett, one 
of the men whom he felt that he could trust, 
was sent to Harry Keith to make inquiry if 
there would be anything on Saturday or Sun- 
day. Without being suspected by the mer- 
chant he was told that two of the bootleggers 
would reach the store about five o'clock Satur- 
day evening. The missionary was almost hor- 
rified at the news. He knew if more beer and 
liquor were distributed that he would lose a 
number of the boys and men he hoped to win. 
What should he do ? There were no officers 
he could trust. 

Without explaining his plans he decided to 
take a risk. He would go out and meet the 
men and make a personal appeal to them. If 

138 



THE LAMBS AND THE WOLVES 139 

they would not hear him and return, he planned 
to buy the stuff ; if they refused, what would 
then follow he had not the slightest idea. But 
he would save the boys if it was in his power. 

That afternoon some young men met at the 
store. They received the important news that 
the bootleggers would arrive about five o'clock 
with the latest and best brands of beer, fur- 
nished by the Kansas City breweries. It was 
to be free and would be distributed at the store 
about eight o'clock. 

Some of them were not altogether pleased 
with the news. They felt that it was another 
direct challenge to them. It was a test as to 
which side they would line up with. 

Distributing beer at the store, especially to 
the boys, was common. But there had never 
been any defined plan of opposing the practice. 
To the average young man, it appeared that he 
was expected to go with the crowd, and he gen- 
erally did. But now there was well-defined 
opposition, and these same young men saw that 
they were to put themselves on record — to line 
up with one side or the other. The day was 
hot and they had left the store and taken seats 
under the shade of a tree at the back of the 
building, some thirty yards west. 

Clarence Bush, a foreman at one of the hay 
camps, who was looked upon as a leader among 



140 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

the young men and who was always at the 
front in every kind of gathering, the socials, 
dances and smokes, was one of the number to 
gather under the shade tree. It was said that 
Bush was a very successful gambler. While it 
was not published from the housetops, it was 
the common talk of the neighborhood that he 
beat Harry Keith only two Sunday nights be- 
fore the appearance of the missionary in a game 
of poker for fifty dollars, and was so cold 
blooded that he picked up the money and re- 
fused to play any further. 

" I know Mr. "Wilson is right," said young 
Bush in a general discussion of the situation, 
" but we young fellows would have a hard fight 
to live up to what he teaches. If we fail to join 
the drinking crowd to-night they will cut us 
out ; or at least Harry Keith will never quit 
laughing at us. But it looks like a mean and 
cowardly thing to do, to desert Mr. Wilson at 
this time." 

" Yes, it is," broke in Charlie Dodge. " But 
if we fail to be at the smoke to-night they will 
accuse us of lining up with the preaching crowd. 
Next week Mr. Wilson will be gone and we will 
not have the preaching crowd to run with. I 
know what they will say. Harry Keith will 
never quit asking all kinds of fool questions." 

" Yes, I heard the old cuss ask Ethel Holmes 



THE LAMBS AXD THE WOLVES 141 

when she called for mail this morning, ' what 
she would do when the meeting closed and the 
preacher was gone,' " said Harvey Brooks. 
" Then he laughed." 

44 The old cuss," responded McCooly. " I 
wish she had slapped him in the mouth." 

44 She ought to, but she didn't. Her face 
turned red and she said she was going to help 
save the children from his wicked ways," said 
Harvey. 

" Good ! " exclaimed a chorus of voices. 
" That sounds like Ethel. But, the poor girl, 
won't she have a hard time with such cowards 
as we are ? " added Clarence Bush. 

" That she will, but she's got the nerve," said 
another member of the crowd. 

44 1 hain't never been much in living good ; 
I've gone with the crowd as I did last Wednes- 
day night," and the speaker rubbed his hand 
over his right eye, which had been hit with a 
beer bottle. It was still closed and as black as 
crepe. The speaker was Ed Crockett. 44 I 
have known one thing a long time ; that it is 
always best to stand for the right thing," con- 
tinued Ed. 44 1 hain't always done it, but I 
know it's the best," and there was a pause. 
4fc Our old school-teacher back in the little log 
schoolhouse in Tennessee used to talk to us boys 
about standing for the right," the same voice 



142 HADE^ WILSON: MISSIONARY 

continued. " He used to tell us what David 
Crockett would do, and I'll bet he would do it 
too," another pause following. "He used to 
tell us that one of David's first sayings was, 
' Be sure you are right, then go ahead.' " 

" It will be a fight that will try our mettle if 
We stay by the preacher to-night," said Bert 
Redecker. " We are all cowards. If we go 
to-night we will also go to-morrow, and in that 
time, if we stay sober, we will line up with the 
preacher. I know a lot of you boys can do it, 
and I hope you will. But it will be a hard 
fight." 

" There will be some who will stand with Mr. 
"Wilson anyway," again remarked Clarence 
Bush. " Fred Holmes was always a nice, quiet 
boy. He is on the preacher's side now ; and 
there's John Stuart, Hal Skyes, and a whole 
crowd of girls. But my! they will be like 
lambs among wolves. I am sorry for them 
now." 

" Would it not be a great fight for us to take 
a stand with them and show a solid front to 
Harry Keith and his crowd of scoffers ? " This 
vision rushed into Ed Crockett's mind after the 
suggestion of Clarence Bush — that the young 
people would be like lambs among wolves. He 
continued : " It will be a mean thing if we do 
not try to keep them from the wolves." 



THE LAMBS AND THE WOLVES 143 

" Hello, boys ! " called out the voice of 
Mike Masters, who had just driven up in his old 
rickety wagon drawn by the same little old 
bony horses. 

Mike was visiting the store for the first time 
since he was beaten up by the mob two weeks 
before. He was still weak, but had gained 
some strength in the last few days. He was 
recognized by the boys, but it was clear they re- 
gretted to see him. One remarked while Mike 
was climbing out of the wagon : " It is bad for 
Mike that he is able to come down to-day." 

" That's so," said Clarence Bush. 

" Can't we get him back home before five ? " 
asked Ed Crockett. 

" Another spree to-night would about finish 
him," suggested Bert Eedecker. 

By this time Mike had hitched his ponies and 
walked up to where the boys sat. 

"Have a seat, Mike," said Clarence Bush, 
moving to give him room. " We're glad to see 
that you are better. You still look thin and 
weak. I guess you will go back home soon," 
continued the hay foreman. 

" Yes," replied Mike. " As soon as I can get 
a little something to eat for my wife and chil- 
dren. I have struck it hard, boys — lots harder 
than ever before. I was hit hard the other 
night. It was much more than the pain from 



144: HADEN wilsok: missionary 

the blow. It's no worse now than it has been 
lots of times before, but I just feel it more. The 
scales are falling from my eyes, boys. For six- 
teen long years I have been drinking, cussing, 
fighting, and my wife and children have been suf- 
fering and suffering. It's all off, boys. I may 
need more help, but Mr. Wilson is a power of 
strength to me. He's changed things some, 
boys, and Mike is going to be a better man." 

" Mike," said Ed Crockett, " we are going to 
have an old time smoker to-night with plenty 
of free beer to drink, the best that's made in 
Kansas City. Would you like to join us ? " 
This statement was made by Crockett to test 
Mike's power to resist temptation. 

All eyes were on Mike. Many times those 
same boys had seen him fall under the pressure 
of much less temptation, and they had never 
known of his failing to fall. In an instant 
Mike was a changed man. The same old ap- 
petite which had long been a disease with him 
gripped him as firmly as if he were a piece of 
inanimate matter in the jaws of a vise. Had 
there been within his reach that moment whis- 
key, beer, or anything that would answer the 
craving of the appetite, he would at once have 
made a complete surrender to its power. The 
boys saw and understood all that Mike was 
suffering. He looked helplessly at them, and 



THE LAMBS AND THE WOLVES 145 

then with an effort to get hold of himself again, 
he exclaimed, " My God ! I thought that I was 
free, but I am not. Where has my strength 
gone ? " and he looked about, a helpless victim. 
" How may I find it again ? " he said, with an 
appealing look at the young men who sat by 
knowing not what to do. 

" Mike," said young Bush, " let me get the 
groceries you need this evening. I want to go 
out to Mr. Holmes' place, and I will drive back 
with you." 

This was done to save Mike from falling into 
other hands. If he had gotten into the store 
he would have been a drunken maniac even be- 
fore five o'clock. The items were purchased by 
Clarence Bush, while the boys kept Mike in 
the shade of the tree. In a short time he and 
the hay boss were driving back over the road 
to his home. Mike was greatly depressed. 
More than once he exclaimed, u My God ! " 
and then lapsed into silence. 

The conversation in which the young men 
had engaged that afternoon, and the helpful in- 
terest they had shown to Mike Masters, was a 
revelation even to themselves. Two weeks be- 
fore they could not have appreciated the spirit 
which moved them in the present conversation 
and prompted them to aid Mike in such a time 
of need. Many times before they had allowed 



146 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

him to rush headlong into the merciless grasp of 
dissipation with no thought of the great truth 
that they were their brother's keeper. All this 
had been brought about by the untiring efforts 
of the young missionary, his associations, his 
songs, prayers and sermons. These young men 
did not know it, but it was a fulfilment of 
God's promise : " And, lo, I am with you." 

That such a change had come to pass in a 
community of such little promise illustrates the 
great need of men with good common sense and 
tact to do the Lord's work in the rural districts. 
It has long been the custom of the churches to 
keep their strong men, men of resource and 
power, in the city churches and stations in the 
larger towns where they can be well supported ; 
to send the weaker and less qualified men — al- 
lowing the term qualified to be given its fullest 
meaning — to the country places. It is a fact 
that at this time the people in the country can- 
not be won for Christ and the church by just 
any one that the church may send. If spiritual 
leadership is again to assume its rightful place 
with the people in the country, qualified men 
must be sent there. And let it be understood 
that qualification for such a field does not mean 
the ability to preach and that only, but much 
more. The times require men of good sense, 
judgment and energy ; and all of these thor- 



THE LAMBS AND THE WOLVES 117 

oughly dominated by a spirit of consecration. 
This means that men are needed who have a 
real love for the people in the neglected places. 
Men who can adapt themselves to the condi- 
tions that exist in the rural districts and who 
possess the rare qualifications to interest people 
and set them to work. 

What has been set forth in this volume of the 
character of Haden Wilson is a fair illustration 
of the kind of men needed in the great neglected 
fields of our nation, and the wonderful work 
that may be wrought by those possessing these 
qualifications. The rewards are enough to 
challenge the strongest to enter the service. 

The crowd of young men, after Mike and 
Clarence drove away, dispersed without reach- 
ing any understanding as to which side they 
would line up with that night. The words of 
Ed Crockett, " Be sure you are right, then go 
ahead," lingered with some, and the suggestion 
that the young people who had and would 
stand with the missionary w r ould be as lambs 
among wolves, brought to the minds of some a 
picture that enlisted all their sympathy and ap- 
pealed to their manhood. The wolf had al- 
ready shown his teeth in the person of Harry 
Keith that morning. There were other wolves. 
They would grow bold. To stand off and see 
them enter the fold of the innocent lambs, intim- 



148 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

idate them, stampede and destroy their faith, 
while these young men stood quietly by, ap- 
peared to some to be the consummation of 
cowardice. But, with all this, not one would 
decide fully to defend the lambs. 



OHAPTEE XIV 

"the good shepherd giveth his life 
fok his sheep " 

That afternoon Haden Wilson left his room 
without explaining to any one where he was 
going or the purpose of his mission. He rode 
in a buggy that went out toward the tank. At 
the time nothing was thought about it by those 
who saw him drive away. He had been seen 
before to go in that direction, as well as in 
many others. The deeply set purpose which 
was indicated by his firmly set jaws, his statue- 
like posture of body, his hands with almost the 
grip of a vise clasping each other, and his gaze 
fixed steadily ahead, turning neither to the 
right nor to the left, was not observed by those 
who watched him as he drove away. The 
farmer with whom he rode lived in the Verdi- 
gres bottom, some miles beyond and east of the 
railroad. The missionary had met him before, 
once at a sick neighbor's where he had called, 
and the farmer had on one or two occasions at- 
tended a service at the schoolhouse. The brief 
acquaintance had served to develop a mutual 

149 



150 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

friendship between the two men. The farmer 
was very glad to have the missionary, who 
stated that he was going in the neighborhood of 
the tank, to ride with him. He, however, was 
surprised and disappointed that his companion 
was so little inclined to talk. Several times on 
the way he tried to interest him in a conversa- 
tion, but each time his efforts ended with a blunt 
" yes " or " no." 

This temper of young Wilson, so different to 
that which the farmer had seen on former oc- 
casions, was a puzzle to his companion and 
friend, and had the effect of checking his grow- 
ing admiration for the young missionary. 

The farmer did not and could not observe 
that his companion's mind, body and soul were 
absorbed in a great purpose. He could not see, 
neither could he understand how it was with 
the missionary that he was so absorbed in a 
contest which involved the highest destiny and 
happiness of a score or more of the community's 
best young men. He could not appreciate the 
fact that it was his or any one else's business to 
lift from the burdened backs and aching hearts 
the load which avarice, fettered with all manner 
of sin, sought to bind the unsuspecting, innocent 
and helpless. He could not understand how it 
was that on that afternoon this young man was 
risking his life that he might carry out his mis- 



"the good shepherd " 151 

sion to save others. Neither could he com- 
prehend how it was that he himself, though he 
might hear the groans and witness the desola- 
tion wrought by sin, should join in the battle 
against the enemy. 

Such impulses had never called this friend of 
the missionary to a vision of service in which 
the cry of others was heard above that of his 
own selfishness. 

When the tank was reached the missionary 
thanked the farmer friend, who drove away 
still more puzzled by his strange actions. There 
was no house within a half mile of the tank, 
neither was there a train due until nine o'clock 
that night, and why it was he would stop there 
at that time in the day and not explain his pur- 
pose, raised questions of suspicion in the farmer's 
mind. For he had learned to interpret the 
actions of all men whom he could not under- 
stand, or who would not explain away all 
doubts, as intending some wrong. So it was 
doing no violence to his conscience when he 
reached the conclusion that the missionary was 
bent on some dark deed. 

Haden Wilson stood on the railroad track for 
some minutes. All was silent save the constant 
dropping of water which was forcing its way 
through a small hole in the bottom of the 
wooden tank. These little bits of water — drop, 



152 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

drop, drop — into the tiny pool which they had 
created below attracted the attention of the 
silent visitor, and he stood contemplating it. 
As he watched the drops of water follow each 
other, as regular as the tick of his watch, and 
so readily lose themselves in the body of the 
whole, a meadow-lark hopped out from its 
hiding-place to the pool, dipped its little bill 
into the sparkling liquid, lifted its head and 
stretched its neck high above its graceful body, 
swallowing with great satisfaction the refresh- 
ing draught. The performance was repeated 
several times. The lark was joined by its 
mate, and soon other feathered friends came. 
A little wren flew down from its hiding-place 
beneath the eave of the tank, and a mocking- 
bird left its perch on top to join its neighbors. 
All stood around drinking from the sparkling 
little pool. There was no crowding, no protest, 
or objections among these little neighbors. All 
drank, and drank, and drank. And the shining 
particles continued to drop, drop, drop. Each 
had enough ; and still drop, drop, drop came 
the water from above. The little pool seemed 
to smile as it added to the comfort and happi- 
ness of the feathered denizens of the prairie. 
The wren with a sweet note, as if to say, 
" Thank you," flew back to its place under the 
eave. The graceful larks in a louder tone of 



"the good shepherd" 153 

thankfulness hopped away to their paradise, 
and the mocking-bird full of joy and thanks 
for blessings took its flight to the shady bough 
on an oak where it, too, poured forth its beauti- 
ful song of praise. 

" It is," young Wilson mused, " our Father 
who cares for the birds. How different to 
these little creatures is man. Out of the great 
abundance the birds only seek that which they 
can use to-day and leave the remainder free 
from the mark of preemption or the slimy coils 
of greed. How unlike man, who is seeking to 
pervert all of God's plans. He has taken his 
gold and silver and through the spirit of greed 
has used it to mortgage the happiness of man- 
kind. Through his spirit of avarice man has 
thwarted God's purpose in perverting the means 
of his creation for food, raiment, home and 
happiness, and brought forth from these, his 
own creations, wrecked manhood and woman- 
hood, desolated homes, weeping and disconsolate 
wives, mothers and widows, hungry, helpless 
children, and young men and women sold into 
slavery." 

These were the thoughts of the missionary 
for the brief space of time as he stood under 
the shadow of the tank. As his reflections 
reached the vision of young men, he was no 
longer lost in reverie, but was alert. It was 



154 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

his mission to save young men. That was why 
he was at the tank. He turned and looked up 
the railroad track, which stretched to the 
north, then south; but there was no one in 
sight. 

It was now four o'clock. If the bootleggers, 
he reasoned to himself, are to be at the store at 
five o'clock it is time for them to be in sight. 
After a few moments' reflection he decided that 
he would go up the track, as he was sure they 
would come from the north, and he started out 
in a brisk walk over the ties. He had gone 
nearly half a mile when he saw some distance 
ahead two men coming up the right-of-way. 
He was sure they were the parties for whom 
he was looking. Each one carried packages 
sufficiently large to hold several dozen bottles 
of the stuff such as was generally handled by 
men of their character. Both parties continued 
toward each other ; the bootleggers, closing up 
ranks, walked side by side on the track. 

From their actions it was not difficult to 
judge that they were suspicious of the party in 
front. At this point it was necessary for them 
to get on the track, for the right-of-way crossed 
a deep ravine. A bridge had been built over 
it, so it was an easy matter to cross on the ties ; 
whereas it would require considerable more 
time to follow a path which led some distance 



"the good shepherd" 155 

away and then back to the railroad some three 
or four hundred yards to the south. 

As the missionary and bootleggers walked 
forward they met on the bridge above this 
ravine. The two men recognized the mission- 
ary and their looks were not those of friendly 
greetings. 

The missionary stopped when within a few 
feet of the men facing him. They also stopped 
short and set down their burdens. 

" What do you want ? " demanded the bully, 
with a brutal scowl on his face. 

" I want to talk to you men," was the reply. 

" All right, fire away," said one of the men. 

" You're going to the store ? " 

" Yes, but what business is it of yours ? " 

" I think I know your business, and I wanted 
to ask you not to go." 

" I am sorry, young man, but we can't oblige 
you." 

" If you could understand things there as I do, 
I am sure you would not go. There are a num- 
ber of young men, and a few of the older ones, 
too, who are trying to give up a dissipated life. 
The next twenty-four hours mean much to them. 
If you go there to-night and distribute the liquor 
you have, there could hardly any worse thing 
happen to the community. I want to save the 
boys. If you go, there is little hope for them. 



156 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

So I thought if I could get you to understand 
it, you might listen to reason." 

"Why, mister, if the young men want to 
drink, get drunk, and spoil your plans, that's 
none of our business." 

" Surely you know that what you will do, if 
you go on, may result in serious injury and 
maybe the death of some of those parties. You 
know that such serious things have happened. 
And, don't you know that whatever does hap- 
pen from their drinking the liquor you are 
largely responsible for, and that does make it 
your business ? " 

" See here, mister, that's all baby prattle. 
We've heard it before. You need not talk to 
us. It's our business to deliver the goods." 

" To whom ? " 

" Harry Keith." 

" Where are these goods from ? " 

"Kansas City." 

" Are they to be distributed free ? " 

"Yes, half of them." 

"Why not all of them?" 

" See here, mister, there is nobody in business 
for their health. It's money at the bottom, and 
what is given away will soon come back when 
the boys are broke in." 

" Do you get the proceeds from the sales ? " 

"Yes." 



" THE GOOD SHEPHERD " 157 

" Will you take the money from me for that 
half and deliver the whole to me and go back ? " 

" What will you do with it ? " 

" Destroy it.' 5 

" No, sir. That is injuring our business." 

" Can you not wait then — not go to-day ? " 
and the missionary gave the men an appealing 
and steady look which meant more than he said. 

" No one has interfered with you before ; can 
vou not wait ? " 

" We don't stand for that. You are playing 
with dynamite, my young friend. We will be 
late now. Get out of the way," and the two 
men picked up their packages. 

" I am pleading for the young men and chil- 
dren, and God being my helper I intend to de- 
fend them against your cursed business," and 
Haden Wilson showed in every fibre of his 
being that he meant it. 

The men could not go on without coming in 
close touch with the antagonist, and they saw 
to do that meant to fight. To turn back and 
take the path would cause at least twenty -five 
minutes' delay. Soon, however, they deter- 
mined on their course. Still holding their pack- 
ages, each rushed forward at the same time, 
thinking to overpower their enemy and go on 
with no further resistance. 

As young Wilson instantly saw and read in 



15S HADEN WILSON I MISSIONARY 

their eyes what was intended, he braced him- 
self, gave a lunge forward and received the 
impact of the rush without being borne down. 

The bully was hurled back, almost losing his 
balance and falling to the ground twenty feet 
below. In an effort to save himself he let go 
his package, which crushed on the rocks under 
the bridge. The other man was slightly stag- 
gered, but still held to his goods. The leader 
was now in a great rage. He saw what a great 
calamity had happened, and turned to his 
enemy, cursing furiously. Both rushed at him 
again ; this time the young man quickly moved 
to one side, thereby escaping the desperate fury 
of the bully, who, missing his mark, staggered 
some feet beyond before he could check him- 
self. In moving, as the missionary had done, 
he not only escaped the mad rush of the one, 
but was able to throw his full weight with all 
the power he could command against the other. 
The shock was so great that he, too, staggered 
back, still holding on to his goods. The mis- 
sionary instantly pulled himself together and 
rushed forward before he had time to regain 
his balance and bore him down. To protect 
himself against this assault the package was 
dropped, which, by a violent kick of the mis- 
sionary, was hurled some distance below the 
bridge and the bottles crushed on the rocks. 



"the good shepherd" 159 

This was all the work of a moment. While 
the missionary had succeeded in destroying the 
liquor he was face to face with an unequal con- 
test. To continue longer with both men on 
the bridge he knew was dangerous, and there 
was little doubt what the result would be. All 
this flashed through young Wilson's mind in a 
moment, and to protect himself with every ad- 
vantage, before his enemies had sufficiently re- 
covered to rush to another attack, he retreated 
from the open bridge to where it joined the 
dump. This dump rose some eighteen or 
twenty feet from the level surface below and 
sloped gradually from the top to the base at an 
angle of nearly forty-five degrees. The posi- 
tion was not a safe one in such a contest, but 
was more desirable than to have remained on 
the bridge. Should he be overpowered and 
hurled from his footing, the fall would not be 
so dangerous. 

A few rapid strides carried the missionary to 
the end of the bridge, and he only had time to 
turn and brace himself to receive his antago- 
nists, who were rushing at him with increased 
rage. The men being relieved of their burdens, 
which they had endeavored to save, determined 
to make short work of the object of their wrath. 
Their assault was received with all the force 
that the missionary could command. The im- 



160 HADEET WILSON: MISSIONARY 

pact was fierce. A blow that was directed at 
the bully fell on its victim with such force that 
he recoiled and staggered back on the bridge. 
But the united strength of the two was too 
great for the single contestant and he too was 
forced backward. Struggling to regain his 
balance and to receive another assault, he made 
the discovery that his right hand with which 
he had dealt the furious blow was helpless. 
The wrist had been dislocated ; the hand hung 
limp and refused to obey the uplifted arm in 
another desperate effort to resist the attack. 

The punishment he received by this assault 
was horrible. Haden Wilson was borne down 
by terrific blows. All was dark. There was a 
sensation of falling down, down, he could not 
tell to what depths, and then all consciousness 
ceased. In great fury the missionary had been 
hurled over the embankment, which saved him 
from still greater punishment, and he lay limp 
and helpless at its base. The body was visible 
from above • and the two men glared at it with 
all the fury of enraged beasts. Could they 
have descended with safety to themselves, the 
helpless man would have received still greater 
outrageous treatment. 

Seeing that the body remained in the same 
position with no signs of life, the two outlaws 
abandoned any further attack. They, too, had 



"the good shepherd" 161 

not emerged from the contest without bearing 
visible marks of the battle. The leader's face 
was bleeding freely and one eye was already 
closed from the effects of the blow which sent 
him staggering upon the bridge. His compan- 
ion had fared little better. While they were 
not disabled to the extent of preventing them 
from continuing their journey, yet the marks of 
the contest were so great that it would be de- 
cidedly unpleasant to face the crowd at the 
store. An explanation would be necessary, and 
there was a profound aversion to telling how it 
happened. And, too, their antagonist was 
probably dead, and they did not care to an- 
swer the charge of murder. Also the purpose 
of their journey to the store lay before their 
eyes a stranded wreck. The cases which con- 
tained the liquors had fared badly in the fall. 
So with a scowl and a curse, after a brief con- 
sultation, the two men turned and retraced their 
steps, leaving the scene of their murderous ac- 
tion wrapped in silence. After going some 
distance up the railroad track they left it and 
disappeared in the wood, which fringed a small 
stream that finally lost itself in the waters of 
the Yerdigres Kiver. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN" 

There was unusual activity at the store. A 
large number of farmers and those working in 
the hay camps came in during the afternoon ; 
some to get their mail, others to buy supplies, 
and still others to cash their checks, which they 
had received for their week's labor in the hay- 
fields. Harry Keith was never more obliging. 
He allowed a timid little woman a better price 
than usual for the dozen eggs she offered for 
sale and gave her an extra large amount of the 
goods she bought for the price. 

The men continued to collect in groups and 
discuss matters apparently of a serious nature. 
Those who had frequently been witnesses to 
such gatherings knew very well what might be 
expected. It was a sure index to the fact that 
the bootlegger was abroad and liable to make 
his appearance in their midst at any time. As 
the hour of five approached there was an air of 
expectancy on more than one face. The young 
men who early in the afternoon had collected 
in the shade of the oak at the back of the store, 

162 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 163 

and who had dispersed when Mike climbed back 
into the rickety old wagon, were again engaged 
in earnest conversation. 

Five o'clock passed. Harry Keith had al- 
ready ceased to jolly his customers who entered 
the store. He was now irritable and manifestly 
cross toward some, especially a timid girl and 
bashful boy who called for mail. Every min- 
ute the prospects for carrying out his plans 
which were to be the death-blow to the mis- 
sionary's efforts grew less. Some who had been 
induced to stay on account of prospects of free 
beer were becoming restless, and he knew 
would soon go away. At six o'clock he called 
Arch Crow, a well-known character who was 
ready to follow the bidding of the merchant. 
After a brief conference Crow mounted his 
horse and rode rapidly away toward the tank. 
By six-thirty the crowd of men who had been 
induced to stay began to disperse. Arch Crow 
returned after having been gone some forty 
minutes and reported to his chief. That it dis- 
pleased him was clear by the oaths that he ut- 
tered. 

By seven-thirty the meeting folks began to 
arrive at the store. Some stopped to spend a 
short time there, while others drove on to the 
schoolhouse. The keen eye of the merchant, 
however, had noted that the missionary had not 



164 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

made his appearance, and in some way he as- 
sociated this fact with the failure of his emis- 
saries, through whom he would gladly turn the 
joy of the neighborhood into mourning. He 
was not entirely easy. The character of the 
two men was well known to him and in their 
hands he was sure little mercy would be shown 
the missionary. 

By eight o'clock a good crowd had gathered 
at the schoolhouse, and those who took part in 
the song services were engaged in rendering 
some of their favorite selections. These songs 
had drawn into the building quite a number. 
There was a respectful silence, all seeming to 
enjoy the music. 

It was noted by this time that the missionary 
was not present. The fact was particularly 
emphasized by Clarence Bush and some of his 
companions who had felt more than usual that 
afternoon the appeal to their best manhood on 
behalf of the " lambs," as they termed the 
children. They had watched with increased 
interest the failure of the bootleggers to arrive 
at the given time. They had also seen Haden 
Wilson drive away with the farmer whom they 
knew lived beyond the tank. All these inci- 
dents, together with his failure to be at his 
post, which had never occurred before, had 
raised in their minds grave suspicions. 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 165 

Pretty soon the question, " Where is the 
preacher ? " was being asked. No one seemed 
to know. The singing ceased and the crowd 
grew restless. One who knew related to his 
neighbor what had been planned for that after- 
noon and night. This information was soon 
passed around, and as it traveled it was en- 
larged. By nine o'clock the schoolhouse had 
been abandoned by the people who collected in 
groups outside, all discussing why the mission- 
ary was not present. 

A number of reasons were advanced. Clar- 
ence Bush and his friends related all they knew 
of his going away, and in a few minutes after, 
it was told that the missionary had been seen 
at the tank that afternoon with his suit case 
waiting to catch a south-bound freight train. 
This interpretation of his absence was given 
prominence. It meant that he had left the 
country, given up the fight. Some went so far 
as to claim that he had been discovered and 
was fleeing from his pursuers. This conclusion 
was so in keeping with other characters who 
had imposed upon the people that it was ac- 
cepted by some as true. But others would not 
believe it. Among those who defended the 
young man most vigorously against any wrong 
act was Ethel Holmes. She spurned the idea 
of his leaving the community in such a manner. 



166 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

To those who knew what had been planned 
that day, and who understood that the young 
missionary had driven toward the railroad 
track there was a fear that some tragedy had 
been enacted. One was sure the people had 
been buncoed, and others were expressing them- 
selves freely against all men who sought to 
preach and spread the knowledge of the Bible. 
They declared that Harry Keith was right. 
However, the contingent was small. 

The contention of others was of a much more 
serious character. They were thoughtful men 
and women of the community ; those who had 
seen much of the young man, and had placed 
entire confidence in him. They would not 
entertain the idea that he had left them with- 
out an explanation. While the cause was 
freely discussed by both contending parties 
Ethel's father, at her suggestion, proposed that 
they go to his room and see if his clothing and 
suit case were gone. This reasonable sugges- 
tion was at once adopted. A number of citizens 
left the schoolhouse grounds for that purpose. 
This was a signal for the crowd to disperse, 
some going to the private home where the mis- 
sionary boarded and others to collect at the 
store. 

The rumor was still on many tongues that 
the missionary had taken flight. The citizens 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 167 

who collected at the home where he stayed 
were at once shown into his room. There was 
nothing missing. His Bible lay open on the 
table ; an extra suit of clothes hung on the 
wall, and his suit case sat in one corner. A 
package of laundered clothes, which had been 
brought in that day, lay on the bed. The fact 
that the missionary's personal effects were still 
in the room was reported by those who had 
made the examination, and resulted in silenc- 
ing the ones who were willing to spread abroad 
the slanders that he was a fraud and had been 
discovered. 

That something was wrong grew on the 
crowd. The people became very anxious to 
know what had happened, and as the minutes 
lengthened into hours few were there who 
thought of returning to their homes. 

Clarence Bush suggested that they organize 
a searching party to go to the tank, and make a 
search of the railroad for some distance on 
either side. Not all understood why he 
thought of such a plan. This suggestion was 
adopted at once, and in a short time a large 
party left the store for the tank. Of those who 
were in the front ranks of the searchers were 
Clarence Bush, Ed Crockett, and Mr. Holmes 
and his daughter, Ethel. As the night wore 
on Ethel's anxiety increased. Others among 



168 HADEN wilsoist: MISSIONARY 

the women became unnerved and wept bitterly, 
When it was freely talked that the missionary 
had likely been the victim of fonl play. Ethel 
rode her faithful pony, which never lost his 
place in the front of the party. She was al- 
ways alert, searching with a trained eye every 
object that was visible in the golden moon- 
light. 

The first party was soon followed by others 
in buggies, on horseback, and still others on 
foot. Few men were left at the store. In a 
short time the prairie toward the tank was dot- 
ted with people, some moving slowly, calm and 
self-possessed ; others at a rapid gait, rushing in 
one direction and then in another, excited, but 
with no purpose. 

It was only a few minutes' ride under the 
present pressure to reach the tank. By con- 
certed effort the advanced party was looking in 
every direction for some sign that would furnish 
a clue. At the tank there was nothing to aid. 
In a short time the little group stood in its 
shadow where Haden Wilson had stood a few 
hours before and listened to the drops of water 
as they came down from above, and watched 
the little feathered denizens of the prairie as 
they drank from the sparkling fountain. All 
now was silence save the continued drop, drop, 
drop of the water as it still pressed its way 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 169 

through the tiny worn hole and splashed into 
the pool below. 

" The railroad and right-of-way to the north 
on either side should be searched first," said 
Clarence Bush. He suggested that at least 
half a dozen should go over the right-of-way in- 
side the wire fence, and as others arrived that 
they join hands and go over the prairie as far 
as the point where the railroad crossed the bridge 
some half mile distant. 

By the time these plans had been agreed upon 
a large crowd had reached the tank. All fell 
into line as much as is possible with an un- 
trained body. Ethel, her father, and Clarence 
Bush, with Ed Crockett and two others set off 
at once on foot over the railroad track and 
right-of-way, searching eagerly every object. 
In a short while the prairie for some distance 
on either side of the track was lined with men 
and boys, all bent on finding the lost mission- 
ary. The advance was almost in a solid and 
uniform line. The short march under the hasty 
suggestion of system had served to bring the 
more excitable characters, to a degree, under 
the sway of determined numbers. The move- 
ments were slow, but no ground was covered 
without being carefully inspected. Every sec- 
tion of the railroad for some distance north and 
south was familiar to Ethel as it was also to 



170 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

most of those who were with her and her father. 
"When the long dump, which joined the bridge 
and upon which the tragedy was enacted that 
afternoon, was reached it was suggested that the 
party separate, two going on the east side, a 
like number to the west of the track and the 
others following the road-bed. Ethel, followed 
by her father, turned to the right into the path 
that wound its narrow way along the base of 
the dump. The path seemed to descend lower 
and lower and the track of the railroad to ascend 
in a like proportion. 

The moon had passed its zenith. The shadows 
cast by its silvery rays were growing in length. 
The last hundred yards of the path, which led 
beneath the bridge and in which Ethel and her 
father were traveling, was filled with a frown- 
ing shadow of the railroad dump which towered 
above. The silence and gloom sent a chill to 
Ethel's heart as she pressed forward. 

Clarence Bush and his companion, Ed 
Crockett, who followed the base of the dump 
on the west side, rushed ahead with greater 
speed than Ethel and her father, reaching the 
opening under the bridge and paused in the 
deep shadows of the trees. The rays of the 
moon which fell through the cross timbers that 
supported the ties and steel rails fell on an ob- 
ject lying prone at the base of the dump on the 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 171 

opposite side of the ravine. At once both men 
recognized it as the form of the missionary, and 
almost at a single bound both were kneeling 
beside it. 

The body still lay as it landed in its plunge 
from the railroad above, the head resting on the 
left arm, and the right arm thrown up lay 
against the dump as if to grasp and cling to some 
object. The lower limbs were half drawn as if 
in a last struggle of resistance. The whole body 
showed signs of terrible punishment. The face 
was swollen and disfigured and gave the im- 
pression that it was lifeless. 

The first impulse of the two men was to place 
their friend in a more comfortable position, and 
raising the head and shoulders slightly, an 
audible groan passed his lips. The body was 
still warm. There was life ! In a moment the 
minds of the two men were teeming with plans 
to save the missionary. The discovery of the 
body and the fact that there was still life in it 
were the work of only a few seconds. 

In the midst of the excitement following the 
discovery, Ethel and her father rushed out of 
the deep shadows. Ethel dropped by the side 
of the disfigured man, clasping the still uplifted 
hand in both her own. The touch was only for 
one moment, when she exclaimed, " He is not 
dead ! Go for the doctor ! Go quick ! " This 



172 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

imperative command brought the bewildered 
men to understand what should be done. 

Those who followed on the railroad track had 
arrived by this time and stood on the bridge 
above looking down on the unusual scene. The 
news of the discovery was shouted from the 
bridge and the narrow valley was soon crowded 
with the eager questioning and helpless people. 
Swift runners were dispatched for the doctor, 
who was to meet them at the tank. An im- 
provised litter was soon constructed on which 
the helpless form of the missionary was placed, 
and the crowd took up a silent march over the 
right-of-way back to the tank. 

Those who bore it through the deep shadows 
and out through the moonlight were four of the 
young men who had that afternoon discussed 
the devotion of the missionary to his cause. 
They were not willing a few hours before to 
follow him, but now they would give up all to 
have him restored and again push his work as 
he had during the past weeks. 

Had they and all those who followed in the 
slow and silent march known with what will- 
ingness this young man had followed his Master, 
even to the point of giving his life for the sake 
of those who now followed and mourned him 
as dead, they could have more fully under- 
stood the meaning of Jesus when he said: 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 173 

" The good shepherd giveth his life for his 
sheep." 

The doctor arrived soon after the party 
reached the tank and the hasty examination re- 
vealed the fact that while there was still life 
in the body, the heart was sluggish and re- 
sponded slowly to stimulants. Within a few 
minutes directions were given by Dr. Skyes to 
remove the patient as speedily as possible to 
his room. 

Again the silent crowd took up its march over 
the prairie. There was no sound save tramp, 
tramp, tramp of the sad-faced people. The soft 
rays of the moon as they fell across the up- 
turned face of the patient seemed to unite in 
sympathy with the stricken throng. 

In the march to the store the doctor took his 
place on one side of the patient ; Ethel did not 
for one moment give up her place on the other. 

The crowd at the store anxiously pressed 
upon those returning from the search to know 
if there was any hope. ~No one knew. All 
that could be stated was that the missionary 
was still alive. That he had been unmercifully 
beaten and left by his murderers as dead. The 
doctor would not, and in fact could not, give 
out any statement that was encouraging. To 
all that sought to know the truth he would only 
say, " As long as there is life there is hope." 



174 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

As soon as the patient was in his room Dr. 
Skyes set to work with a grim determination 
to win back from death its victim. The heart's 
action showed marked improvement. The deli- 
cate and painful work of setting the broken 
limbs and the dislocated joints in the right hand 
and dressing the ghastly wounds on his face and 
head was heroically begun. This was the work 
of hours ; but not for one moment was the task 
relinquished until the bruised and mutilated 
body had received the most careful attention. 
During the long ordeal, while yet unconscious, 
the patient gave evidence of great pain. 

At the conclusion there still remained on the 
physician's face the signs of the greatest appre- 
hension. His fears were of internal injuries. 
The fact that the patient had not rallied was 
taken as the gravest sign, since unconsciousness 
of many hours' duration had followed the shock 
resulting from the terrible blows which he had 
received. When the work of dressing the 
wounds had been completed, then followed the 
anxious watching for returning signs of con- 
sciousness. 

After waiting long beyond midnight for some 
word of hope many of the people sad and down- 
cast drove away to their homes ; yet there still 
remained numbers of anxious watchers. 

During the process of dressing the patient's 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEK 175 

wounds Dr. Skjes made a surprising discovery. 
Ethel Holmes, who remained at the mission- 
ary's side during the walk from the tank, took 
up the work of aiding the doctor with such apt- 
ness as to surprise him greatly. At one or two 
points in the operation, which was enough to 
try the nerve of the stoutest-hearted man, 
she showed courage and even understanding 
that would have been a credit to a nurse of 
years' experience. Others were ready and anx- 
ious to aid, but as the work advanced less skil- 
ful hands gave way, leaving the whole process 
to the doctor and to Ethel, whose minds ap- 
peared to act in perfect harmony as to the 
necessity of every movement. Wherever as- 
sistance was needed her alertness never 
failed to respond with an accuracy and deli- 
cateness of touch that greatly astonished the 
doctor. 

He had known Ethel since she was ten years 
of age, and to his certain knowledge she had 
never had an opportunity to acquire the skill 
she commanded. It was an endowment, a gift 
of the Creator, which could not be acquired 
even in the greatest schools. She and her father 
joined the doctor in the silent and anxious 
watch for signs of returning life, and the phy- 
sician rejoiced that he had found in Ethel an as- 
sistant whom he could trust should they have 



176 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

the privilege of nursing their young friend back 
to health. 

At Modoe that night another unusual thing 
happened. It was not the first time, nay there 
been many such times in the past twenty-five 
years, when the crowds had witnessed tragedies, 
or waited upon death. But such occasions had 
been the outgrowth and results of the drunken 
debauches which the bootleggers industriously 
encouraged. Less than two years before the 
present time James Fielder, a substantial farmer 
and cow-man, had fallen a victim to Bushnell 
Stagg's rage generated by bad liquor. The 
crowd watched and waited as the life of the vic- 
tim ebbed away. On that occasion there was curs- 
ing and raging. The cry of the fatherless chil- 
dren and the wail of the disconsolate widow 
mingled with the curses of the drunken mob — 
amid the blending of such awful discord James 
Fielder passed into the other world. 

Some of the same crowd watched again on 
this occasion for the grim messenger to do his 
worst ; but how changed was its temper ! In- 
stead of the ravings, curses, piteous cries and 
wails, there was silence, and sorrow, and prayer. 
The face of every one who moved about in the 
light of the moon bore marks of pity. Some 
waited, seated in the shadows of the oaks back 
of the store, where hours before the young men 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 177 

debated what course they should adopt — 
whether to follow the plans of Harry Keith, or 
to stand with the missionary in his fight to save 
the children. Several of the same young men 
were there. 

" Boys," said Clarence Bush, " I am sure I 
know how it all happened," and then he inter- 
preted or explained the purpose in the mission- 
ary's heart when he drove across the prairie, 
and what transpired when he met the boot- 
leggers. 

" It is the greatest outrage of all," broke in 
Ed Crockett, as Clarence continued his descrip- 
tion of the scene at the bridge. 

" The villains had better never show them- 
selves in this section of the country again ! " 
stated another of the boys in a determined and 
ringing voice. 

" Have you thought, boys, what Mr. Wilson 
would have us do at this time if he were able 
to suggest anything ? " It was Clarence again 
speaking. 

" We now believe he has been right all the 
time, and this afternoon it is more than likelv 
that he gave his life to save us from the temp- 
tations of those devils. While we were not 
brave enough to decide to go with him, he was 
fighting like a brave warrior to make it easier 
for us." 



178 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

This speech went like an arrow deep into the 
heart of the crowd that listened to the hay 
boss. 

" Could he call us," continued Clarence, " and 
demand whether we would follow him against 
any odds in a fight against those outlaws, all of 
us would be glad to go anywhere and even die 
in defending him against their murderous at- 
tacks." 

To this last statement a chorus of voices re- 
sponded in a tone that left no doubt of their 
loyalty. 

" It has been coming up to me time and time 
again, since he has been here," continued young 
Bush, " why is it that a young fellow like he is, 
educated, handsome, intelligent, and with a tact 
to make people his friends, would be engaged 
in a work like he is doing. I am sure he could 
fill good places in towns where the conditions 
are far more agreeable — nice churches and a 
membership that is ready to aid him in his 
work. Instead of that he goes into the rough- 
est places as he has here, and as he did over in 
the Spavinaw hills, visits the poorest and filth- 
iest homes, and helps to nurse the sick and the 
dying. What he has done to-day makes it clear 
to me that there is but one answer. He is fol- 
lowing that Good Shepherd, boys, he told us 
about, willing to give his life for his sheep. 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 179 

" And now what do you think he would have 
us do to-night if he could stand here before us 
after all that has happened ? It would not be 
to tell us to go out and hunt and kill his mur- 
derers. No, I don't think it would be that. 
But I'll tell you what I think he would say," 
continued the young man, after a short pause. 
" It would be that we give up our wicked ways 
and follow Christ as he is following him." 

Deep silence succeeded this short but telling 
speech. Some of the boys shifted uneasily, 
others stood up and moved about as if to run 
away from what they had heard. 

" If one of us were where he is now, I think 
I know what he would do," said Ed Crockett. 

" What's that ? " broke in several voices. 

" He would pray for our recovery. I am 
sure he would." 

" I think so, too," said Jesse Cole and Bert 
Eedecker. 

" It looks hard, after all that he has done and 
tried to do for us, that none of us can or will 
pray for him." This remark was made by Ed 
Crockett. 

" Yes, it does. But you know he has told us 
that before we can be heard for others, our own 
lives must be right with God. We must be 
willing to say : * Thy will be done in us.' 
Each one of us knows what we should do — fully 



180 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

accept Christ as he has pleaded for us to do. 
We know we could do that. As long as we re- 
ject him our prayers for our friends cannot be 
heard." 

This speech by Clarence Bush sent another 
dart into the hearts of the waiting crowd. It 
was the result of the missionary's faithful 
teaching. Prayer had not been left out of 
his plans. He believed in prayer. In the 
past five years he had not gone to a single 
duty that he did not first ask to be guided by 
the Divine power in its performance. The sub- 
ject was on his heart and in his mind, and very 
few of his services were concluded that he did 
not emphasize prayer. To all outward appear- 
ances in Modoc his words had been sown in 
barren soil. But the deep impressions that had 
been made, and the fruit they were struggling 
to bring forth, was a fulfilment of what all 
faithful servants of Christ should learn that 
" My word shall not return to me void." 

The silence that brooded over the crowd be- 
came a burden. The deep sense of conscious 
guilt, and the depressed feeling of helplessness, 
both as to themselves and their afflicted friend, 
had now taken hold of the young men. 

A sudden movement of those who were 
watching at the house, which was only a short 
distance away in full view of the watchers, at- 



THE SHEPHERD SMITTEN 181 

tracted attention, and there was a quick move- 
ment of the crowd in that direction. 

The patient had shown slight signs of return- 
ing consciousness. The news had sent a thrill 
of joy to each heart, and when the young men 
learned that fact it brought to some of them 
the feeling that does not give expression of de- 
light in demonstration, but that which craves 
solitude. With this slight encouragement, after 
a brief consultation they left the scene of their 
anxiety and rode silently away. 

It was four o'clock before there were any 
indications to encourage those watching at the 
bed of the missionary that the battle for life 
might win. By that time Dr. Sykes had ma- 
tured his plans for nursing his patient. The 
strictest regulations were to be observed. No 
one was to be admitted to the sick room, ex- 
cept the attendant, without permission from 
the doctor. To aid in carrying out these regu- 
lations Dr. Sykes was greatly encouraged, for 
he had found out in a few brief hours that Ethel 
Holmes was a faithful and efficient nurse and 
one he could fully trust. As the hours wore 
away the heart's action improved, and by seven 
o'clock the patient had fallen into a peaceful 
slumber, which was to the waiting physician a 
most encouraging sign. 



CHAPTEK XVI 
"MY word shall not return unto me 

VOID " 

The rumor that the Sunday-school mission- 
ary had been murdered spread over the country 
with surprising rapidity. The people of the en- 
tire section were stirred to an unusual degree. 
By nine o'clock on Sunday morning a crowd 
such as had never been seen before at Modoc 
was gathering that they might learn the facts. 
The first news that had gone abroad was that 
the missionary was dead, and many who came 
were greatly surprised to learn that he was still 
alive with prospects of recovery. 

Many of those who came visited the scene of 
the tragedy and made a careful examination of 
the signs of the conflict. It was easy for those 
with long years of experience in Western life to 
put together the movements of all the parties 
and the mute signs, the known tracks of the 
bootleggers, and also those of the missionary 
coinciding exactly with those found on the 
road-bed and in the path below which led under 
the bridge, where they had gone to secure the 

182 



" MY WORD SHALL NOT RETURN VOID " 183 

wrecked packages of liquor; it was easy to 
reach almost a perfect detail of all that had 
happened. There was no doubt but that the 
deed had been committed by the two men who 
had for many months plied their trade in and 
about Modoc, showing a gross disregard of the 
laws of both God and man. As the awful 
magnitude of the results of that business, which 
the people then discussing it had sanctioned, 
came up before them, their indignation arose to 
a degree that was dangerous to tamper with. 

The well-known interest that Harry Keith 
had taken in the lawless acts of these men, and 
his open encouragement of them, together with 
his avowed purpose of driving the missionary 
out of the country, made it very unpleasant for 
that gentleman to face the enraged, and thor- 
oughly outraged community. He was not long 
in detecting this gathering storm of indigna- 
tion, and in a short time he was seen driving 
away from his home. 

One of the pathetic scenes of the morning 
was the gathering of the children who came 
from many of the homes in the community. 
The sad little faces, some with eyes brimming 
with tears as they looked toward the place 
where their good friend lay speechless, was a 
mute and eloquent appeal that touched the 
hearts of the roughest and strongest men. 



184 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONABY 

The service on that day was to have been 
largely in the interest of the children, an interest 
hitherto unknown to them and the community 
before the missionary came. The two weeks' 
visiting from home to home and his oft-re- 
peated plea for the children, and his appeals to 
the parents to lead a better life, had served to 
give the children themselves, and also many of 
the adults, a new vision of child-life. The chil- 
dren knew that they had found in him a new 
friend, through whose message they had learned 
for the first time of the great love of Christ for 
the children. That wicked men could horribly 
beat and murder such a friend filled their little 
hearts with pity and anguish. They felt that 
with his going, should he die, somehow there 
would also disappear the new-found joy that 
had been kindled in their childish lives. 

By ten o'clock the positive assurance was 
given out by the doctor that there was much 
to encourage them to hope for the patient's 
recovery. His vitality was returning in a 
marked degree and with it a rational under- 
standing that removed the first grave appre- 
hensions of a fracture of the skull and a 
permanent injury to the brain. At this hour 
many had gathered at the little schoolhouse, 
but no service was begun. When the good 
news was learned by the superintendent, Mrs. 



"my word shall not return void" 185 

Holmes, it was publicly stated that Mr. Wilson 
might recover. This report brought a marked 
change. The high tension was relieved and 
many thought that the services of the Sunday- 
school might proceed. The Scripture lesson 
followed the favorite song, and then a short 
prayer. In the prayer a pathetic appeal was 
made for what every heart present desired — 
that the life of the missionary might be spared. 
There was a feeling that they were as a flock 
without a shepherd. 

During the progress of the service Clarence 
Bush entered the school building and took a 
seat far up to the front. At the conclusion of 
the statement of Mrs. Holmes that they would 
have the Sunday-school next Sunday, Clarence 
arose to his feet, saying that he wished to make 
a statement, and began by asserting that he had 
been one of the biggest cowards in the state. 

" I want now," he said, " to set everything 
right so far as I am able. Ever since Mr. Wil- 
son came I have known — yes, long before he 
came — that my life was wrong. To drown 
this very feeling I joined the other boys who 
were led by Harry Keith in plans to get rid of 
him. For two weeks I have stood by and 
watched him wage the battle, single and alone, 
for my soul and the souls of others that should 
have long before this time put me to utter 



186 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

shame. Yesterday afternoon he reached the 
climax of the contest. He did all that he has 
preached to us about Christ. He offered his 
life to save me from eternal death! When 
what he did came to me last night I felt that I 
was the poorest and meanest wretch that ever 
lived. I rode out on the prairies to find rest, 
but the very stars, the wind and the silence of 
the night, condemned me. In my distress I 
cried out for relief. I remembered the message 
of the lost sheep. I was one of them! lost, 
lost ! I was helpless, friendless, but I remem- 
bered that he said Christ could save me from 
my guilt. Out there on the prairie I forgot 
myself in my despair and looked beyond, and 
surrendered my all to Christ. Now I want to 
say publicly, here where I have acted a coward 
so many times, that I accept Christ and expect 
to follow him as he would have me help to 
save others." 

This brave speech was received by some with 
open-mouthed astonishment. Others, with tears 
streaming from their eyes, showed their joy by 
rushing to the young man with outstretched 
hands. While some wept quietly for joy, others 
gave way under the piercing words. They, too, 
had been cowards, and like Clarence Bush had 
been guilty of most disgraceful conduct toward 
the missionary. At that moment their guilt 



"my word shall not return void" 187 

was pressing hard on them. More than one 
had given themselves up to tears. At a glance 
the young hay boss saw that it was time for 
him to show his loyalty to Christ. Another 
voice whispered : " You are too fresh ; what do 
you know of Christ ? " 

" God ! forgive me for my cowardice," came 
from Ed Crockett in a most pathetic appeal. 

That appeal settled Clarence as to his duty. 
He had just said that he would follow him in 
helping to save others. What he should do 
was clear, and he threw aside the suggestion of 
Satan and like a brave young warrior faced 
his duty. 

" We are all like the prodigal son. We have 
gone a long way off. But where we have gone 
the Good Shepherd has followed us. Lots of 
times we have slighted him, turned away and 
gone further out on the dark mountain. I have 
done it many times. But he would not give 
me up. He wanted to save us all last night, 
but some of you would not surrender. I did, 
and I have joy and a sweet peace ! Boys, it all 
has come through him. You can't save your- 
selves. You have been great cowards, but to 
see and to know that will not save you. I 
tried that. But we are saved by losing self in 
completely trusting Christ. Now while we 
sing 'Just As I Am Without One Plea,' as 



188 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

many as are willing to trust him as I did, come 
up here and stand on this stage with me," 

While young Bush was talking Ethel came 
in and took her seat near the organ and when 
the song was called for she turned to it, and 
with the low, sweet tones of the instrument, 
began to sing as if it were a plea from her own 
heart. All in the room were moved. Mike 
Masters had entered in time to hear what Clar- 
ence said, and before the first stanza was sung 
he rushed forward, declaring that for days he 
had been trying to reach that point. 

" I give it all up," and Mike waved his long, 
bony hand backward as if he had left a great 
load. " It's all settled ! " And he walked the 
stage greeting others as they came, all the while 
exclaiming, " Peace ! peace ! peace ! " 

Mike's Irish temperament, which always 
served to bring him into the lime-light in any 
crowd, was not subdued in his new experience 
which had come to him in surrendering all to 
Jesus. 

" I have been the biggest coward and sinner 
of the whole bunch. All it has brought to me 
has been suffering. What that has been, no 
man can know — but he does," and a joyful ex- 
pression broke over his face. " He tried many 
times to save me, but I could not understand it. 
But I do now," and Mike laughed. 



" MY WORD SHALL JSTOT RETURN VOID " 189 

While Mike talked, others came. Ed Crockett 
struggled with great doubt, but as he moved 
forward he threw up his hands, exclaiming : 
" It's all gone ! " and rushed to Clarence Bush 
with an ecstasy of joy. The battle was on. 
More than a score were decided. From the 
little schoolhouse that day many, who had 
given years of their life to sin, walked out 
with a conscious knowledge of being free from 
its dominion. A new life, new aspirations, and 
a peace that satisfies were fruits of victory. 

Clarence Bush was strengthened. It was his 
first opportunity to prove his loyalty. That 
he was now brave, where he had many times 
before proved a coward, brought to him an 
appreciation of himself that he had never ex- 
perienced before. He was beginning to realize 
what was meant by "A conscience void of 
offense toward God and man." As he walked 
from the schoolhouse back toward the store, 
there was in him, stronger than ever before, a 
determination to surrender his life to the will 
of Christ. 

It was generally understood that there would 
be no plans formulated by way of closing out 
the meeting until the missionary was able to 
dictate them, should he recover. All now felt 
that the services should be closed in some 
formal way since it had been stated by the 



190 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

missionary that an organization of Christians 
should be perfected at the conclusion. Organ- 
ized effort had often been emphasized, and now 
with the proper leadership many felt that they 
were willing to enlist to that end. But for 
such a leader all turned to the faithful mission- 
ary. 



CHAPTER XVII 

some real conditions which demand 

attention- 
Four days after the tragedy at the bridge 
Dr. Skyes reported that his patient would re- 
cover unless some unforeseen complication set 
in. This news brought great relief to his 
friends, and matters again settled down to 
something like their normal state. A great 
change, however, had come to the people of the 
community. 

Early in the week a public meeting was held 
at the schoolhouse, at which a number of the 
citizens were present. The purpose of the 
meeting was to put the citizenship on record 
against the lawless conduct of some of its mem- 
bers, and against the whiskey vendors outside 
who had plied their trade with such horrible 
results. It was decided at this meeting that 
such violations of the law should cease, and 
a committee was appointed to notify Harry 
Keith that his connection with this nefarious 
business must be discontinued. If not, the ex- 
treme penalty of the law would be enforced. 

191 



192 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

This step was taken that he might have 
ample warning. Of course Harry blustered 
some, but he knew that back of this movement 
were men whom he had seen in action in other 
days, and that it was time for him to change 
some of his practices. 

It is not our purpose to detail all the changes 
that partly or wholly took place in the few 
weeks that followed. Suffice it to say that 
many families became better neighbors. Their 
young men were no longer exposed to the 
evil that had thrived so long. There was a 
marked change in the observance of the Sab- 
bath day, and the attendance at the Sunday- 
school each Sunday morning had steadily grown 
in numbers and increased in interest. 

The ample supply of Bibles and periodicals 
furnished had been the means of encouraging 
many to read the Scriptures and wholesome 
literature who had never before given such 
matters the least consideration. In fact, the 
whole neighborhood was in a changing state, 
attempting to throw off some of its old habits 
that had bound it like a slave to the lowest level 
of civilized society. It had caught a glimpse of 
better things, and with little or no training to 
that end many of the people had set out to reach 
the higher goal. There w ere breakers — many of 
them ahead— but fortunately for these people, 



SOME REAL CONDITIONS 193 

as it is with each of us as individuals, they did 
not know what the future would bring forth. 

Such periods come in the life of every com- 
munity, where progress and the Protestant 
religion shed a dim light. Then it is that 
leaders are needed. At this point many a com- 
munity has been led far out to sea and then set 
adrift without chart or compass. The greatest 
need of the rural districts to-day, as it was 
with Modoc, is capable and well-trained spiritual 
leaders. Throughout the entire country there 
are hundreds of communities without such 
leaders. In many instances where they have 
leaders, they are so narrow, their knowledge of 
men, conditions, and what is required of them, 
is so limited that their leadership is often a 
failure. 

Here is a problem that claims the immediate 
attention of all patriotic citizens, and more par- 
ticularly the Protestant churches. The reason 
is not far to seek. To-day we have proportion- 
ately fewer ministers and churches in the rural 
sections than existed twenty-five and fifty years 
ago. While this is true, our rural population 
continues to increase. Therefore there is a large 
per cent, of the people in the country without 
the uplifting force that has in the past proved 
an inspiration to a multitude of our people. 
The present generation needs this power ; if it 



194 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

is denied it, society, the church, the state, and 
the nation will suffer irreparable loss. 

Another reason why reaching the rural dis- 
tricts in an organized effort, by which medium 
only can spiritual leaders be supplied, claims 
more careful attention, is the lack of comity pre- 
vailing in the different denominations toward 
the efforts of each other in seeking to occupy 
these fields. It is a well-known fact that in 
many communities, where two or more denom- 
inations are seeking to form organizations, it 
almost invariably results in a very meagre sup- 
port for the ministers, and consequently both 
churches are forced into a struggle for existence. 

Such practices are a reflection on our boasted 
liberality. There is no other movement in the 
country which pursues the policy that has been, 
and is pursued by our Protestant churches in 
this matter. 

It is high time for Christian organizations to 
be more careful in the expenditure of their Lord's 
money. The money, energy, and brain power 
that are wasted, but assumed to be expended in 
his name to promote denominational rivalry is 
one of the greatest perversions of the age. It 
defeats largely the real purpose of Christ's mis- 
sion to men. 

Haden Wilson, during the past five j^ears, 
was often a helpless witness to such misguided 



SOME REAL CONDITIONS 195 

zeal. Many times its fruit was effectually to 
destroy his own work. What followed at 
Modoc is an echo of the experience of many a 
faithful missionary, as well as many other min- 
isters of Christ, who have gone out into the great 
harvest field of our nation to seek and to save 
the lost and to establish Christianity in the 
destitute places. 



CHAPTEE XVIII 

THE MISSIONARY GOES TO THE OZARKS 

During the five years since Haden Wilson 
received his commission from the American 
Sunday-School Union he had given himself to 
incessant labor. His record at the home office 
showed that his rank was with the leading 
workers of the society. In the new and needy 
country, eastern Oklahoma, there was such 
great need for his services that he labored with- 
out much thought for his own health. These 
five years of unselfish labor had made inroads 
on his vitalitv that he had not himself detected. 
But it was fully realized in the struggle to re- 
cover from the experience, which came so near 
ending his missionary career. His recovery 
was slow. His anxiety again to resume the 
work at Modoc and carry to completion his 
plans also worked to retard his recovery. 

After some weeks Dr. Skyes was convinced 
that complete rest and freedom from the scenes 
of his activities was necessary for the recovery 
of the missionary. This fact was communicated 
to the society and it was arranged that he should 

196 



THE MISSIONARY GOES TO OZARKS 197 

spend at least one month in the Ozark Moun- 
tains at Eureka Springs, Arkansas. It was 
understood, however, that as soon as his 
health would permit he was to return to Modoc 
and continue his work, which had been so 
abruptly terminated. 

On his departure for the mountains he was 
given a hearty Godspeed by a multitude of 
friends who gathered at the tank. Clarence 
Bush, who had in a few short weeks come to 
be recognized as the leader of the community 
to carry forward the work in the absence of the 
missionary, was ready to give himself to service 
to aid the cause he knew the brave and loyal 
missionary had labored to advance. One of 
the tokens of his devotion was evidenced to 
those present at the tank when, at the close of 
a modest little speech, the hay boss placed in 
the hands of the missionary a check for the 
sum of one hundred dollars. As the time for 
the departure drew nigh the crowd fell into 
line and slowly — some with sad faces, but 
others more cheerful and hopeful — bade the 
young man good-bye and gave him a hearty 
hand-shake. 

Ethel was among the last of the throng. 
Her face had lost some of its ruddy glow. 
The month that had just passed had brought 
into her life new experience and also new 



198 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

visions. In some way she had been trans- 
formed. She now appeared in her whole 
demeanor a brave, self-possessed and determined 
woman. During her service as a nurse many 
new aspirations were awakened in her life. 
Haden Wilson had even before that eventful 
period discovered that she was an exceptionally 
bright girl, and he often reflected in his own 
mind that with proper training and care she 
would develop into a most beautiful and useful 
woman. In her long hours of waiting for his 
returning health he had sought to encourage 
her to that end. In this he had a great op- 
portunity, for after the crisis was passed, Mr. 
and Mrs. Holmes insisted that the patient 
should be moved to their home. This was 
done a few days after the tragedy, so they 
were thrown much together, and out of years 
of experience he selected from choice books at 
hand such as would tend to develop the noblest 
traits of her character and encouraged her to 
read them. With this new ambition budding 
in her life there had also come to her a fuller 
realization that she loved the missionary. But 
to Ethel they were the unfolding of her life, 
and she sought bravely to meet the issue which 
these new experiences might bring to her. 
While her love for the missionary was a strong 
uplifting force, she did not allow it so to possess 



THE MISSIONARY GOES TO OZARKS 199 

her life as to obscure the other visions which 
had been unfolded along with this new happi- 
ness. She would not allow it to be the one 
ruling passion of her life. She was conscious, 
even without being told in so many words, that 
could the object of her affections dictate the 
development of her life, it would be that she 
should grow into a sensible woman, with her 
mind, heart and body in one harmonious whole 
responding to God's will in consecrating all to 
some noble purpose. Just how this was to be 
done she did not know. But she believed that 
it would be revealed to her. With this sublime 
purpose and faith, free from foibles that have 
imprisoned so many noble young girls, blessed 
with graceful form and perfect health, Ethel 
appeared more beautiful than ever on that day 
when she gave her hand to Haden Wilson and 
said good-bye. His eyes again searched the 
recesses of her soul, and in that moment the 
two souls were in harmony. It thrilled her, 
and she bade the missionary farewell with a 
joy unspeakable. 



CHAPTER XIX 

DR. CYPERT SEEKS TO DISCREDIT THE 
MISSIONARY 

The story of the attempted murder of the 
Sunday-school missionary was given wide 
publicity. One of the daily papers of Kansas 
City sent a reporter to Modoc who secured 
the facts and wrote a long article which was 
published in the Sunday edition. A daily in 
Oklahoma did the same. The whole affair, in- 
cluding a description of the country and people 
about Modoc, also some of the tragedies of 
former years, were given conspicuous write- 
ups. The work of Haden Wilson and the 
opposition that sought to drive him out, and 
the final triumph of his cause while he lay 
struggling between life and death, made a 
story that thrilled thousands of people. 

Modoc was at once a widely known place ; it 
was prominent, yet it was only a small com- 
munity with a post-office and without a church 
and pastor. That this was so, moved ministers 
of two denominations to visit the community 

200 



DR. CYPERT 201 

with the view of organizing a church. The 
Saturday following the departure of the mis- 
sionary, Rev. J. H. Cypert drove into the 
neighborhood of Modoc and announced that he 
would spend a few days, preaching each night. 
The people gave him a cordial welcome. They 
expected that he would continue the work of the 
missionary. The first Saturday night's service 
was well attended. Two services were held on 
Sunday. The Sunday-school met and did its 
work as faithfully as it could. 

But Dr. Cypert did not enter into that part 
of the day's service as heartily as those present 
had expected. A glance at the literature that 
was being used seemed to satisfy him that it 
was an unclean thing. There was a good 
crowd present at the eleven o'clock service. 
But many people were disappointed. They 
came expecting to find a man, a duplicate of 
the one they had learned to love. But there 
were many things lacking. The doctor was 
much larger and far more imposing in his per- 
sonal appearance. His voice was much stronger, 
and the congregation were made to understand 
that he was a minister possessing a large fund 
of knowledge and experience. This, however, 
instead of having the effect of drawing the peo- 
ple to him, drove them farther away. 

In his eleven o'clock sermon Dr. Cypert out- 



202 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

lined the purpose of his visit and stated that he 
would each night of the week preach a doctri- 
nal sermon. He told of the need of an organ- 
ized church. This same thought had been em- 
phasized by the missionary, but he had refrained 
from naming any particular organization. Dr. 
Cypert was there to tell them of the creed of 
his church and to aid in organizing one of his 
kind. 

To illustrate why they should have his kind : 
" I see," he exclaimed, with a manifestation of 
contempt, " that you have here a union Sun- 
day-school, and you are using union literature. 
This should not be. This school should be- 
long to some denomination. As it is, it be- 
longs to nothing. The day for union work is 
past." 

Much more the doctor said relative to the 
Sunday-school and its glorious history. Some 
were indignant at what he said ; others were 
hurt, wondering if their friend was wrong in 
promoting a work that should not be endorsed. 
Others knew not what to think. The whole 
procedure, as a way of promoting Christianity, 
was new to them and they did not understand 
how it was that all who claimed to represent 
the same cause could not work together along 
the same line harmoniously. There was much 
confusion, and the work started by the Sunday- 



DR. CYPEKT 203 

school missionary was in a fair way to be des- 
troyed. 

The doctor at the close of the service was 
subjected to some searching questions. Mrs. 
Holmes was indignant, and she did not hesitate 
to make her views known relative to the Sun- 
day-school. " You object," she exclaimed, " to 
our literature. It is my understanding that the 
Scripture that we study is the same used in all 
other schools. Is it because it has not the name 
of some church printed on it instead of the 
American Sunday-School Union that you ob- 
ject to it ? If that is true the same motive that 
prompts you to urge that reason would lead you 
to object to all church literature except your 
own, if by doing so you saw an opportunity to 
advance the interest of your own church. 

" Again," Mrs. Holmes urged, " you contend 
that this Sunday-school belongs to nobody. I 
want to know," the superintendent said, with 
emphasis, " what the difference would be if it 
were named a Baptist school ? Would we not 
have to use the same teachers ? In fact would 
it not be made up of the same people of this 
community, and would not its success or failure 
depend on us regardless of what we name it ? 
It is my understanding that the Society that 
publishes our literature is an old and very 
highly esteemed organization. Its board of di- 



204 HADEK WILSON: MISSIONAKY 

rectors is composed of Christian laymen of high 
standing and reputation, and the men the So- 
ciety sends out are regarded as intelligent, con- 
secrated characters by their respective denomi- 
nations. If you or your church can justly 
claim more, pray tell us what it is." 

Mrs. Holmes paused to give the doctor a 
chance to reply. But it was clear that he had 
met with a rebuke and had heard arguments 
that he did not expect and was not therefore 
prepared to answer. 

After a brief pause, and noting that Dr. 
Cypert manifested no disposition to reply, Mrs. 
Holmes closed her heated remarks by adding, 
" I do not understand, since it is true that this 
society is an old and successful organization, 
with good men to manage its affairs and with 
a careful oversight of the Sunday-schools which 
its missionaries organize, how you can claim 
that this school belongs to nobody." 

With this closing statement Mrs. Holmes, 
accompanied by a number of others who were 
friends of the little Sunday-school, left the 
building. 

For several nights, even until the following 
Sunday, Dr. Cypert thundered away on the 
special doctrines of his denomination, its mode 
of baptism, and other great essentials, which, in 
his estimation, God required of the militant 



DR. CYPERT 205 

church. A few were pleased with his version 
of salvation and expressed a willingness to ac- 
cept his views. Others were in open rebellion. 
They had found nothing in what he said to 
agree with their first real impression of Chris- 
tianity as they had received it from the mis- 
sionary. They had noticed, too, that the doctor 
had not sought out the destitute and most 
lowly places as the missionary had done. Their 
sick were not visited and nursed by the doctor 
as they were by the missionary. All this re- 
sulted in giving the impression that the church 
he talked so much about would not be very 
helpful to the neglected and destitute. 

Neither could many understand why it was 
that he could not speak commendingly of 
Haden Wilson. His work was never approved 
by this preacher. The people there knew what 
he had done. They knew his life — or they 
thought they did — that it was humble, trusting, 
helpful. That life had won its way into their 
hearts, and it was the doctor's greatest mistake 
not to endorse it. Notwithstanding all this, 
the new minister left his imprint on some of 
the people. The meeting was closed with the 
announcement that he would return at a certain 
date in the next month. 

During the week following the close of Dr. 
Cypert's meeting, Rev. John Camp drove into 



206 



HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 



the neighborhood. He was there for the same 
purpose for which Dr. Cypert had labored. 
Eev. Mr. Camp was a jolly character, obliging 
and polite to a marked degree, and he sought 
to make himself agreeable by entertaining those 
about him with yarns, which were sometimes 
not very chaste. He also smoked and was as 
liberal as a " candidate, in setting up the cigars 
to the boys." In this way he sought to win 
the people. Some were disappointed when they 
failed to find that deep spiritual life which they 
felt should be one of the chief elements pos- 
sessed by those who sought to work for Christ. 
Mr. Camp was always busy. He went into 
many homes, found those who were sick, but in 
some way he could not sink self and his de- 
nomination out of sight. He entered vigorously 
upon a course of sermons in which he set forth 
his creed, as the only way of salvation. The 
Sunday-school and children received some atten- 
tion, but he failed to win the hearts of the chil- 
dren, although he knew and called many of 
them by name. To some his whole conduct 
appeared as " acted " that he might win a victory 
for self instead of losing self in One greater. 
His sermons contradicted in many essentials 
those of Dr. Cypert. All this was staggering 
to the people and had the effect of paralyzing 
the zeal of some of the new converts and prac- 



DR. CYPERT 207 

tically stampeding the whole community. 
There were some, however, who approved of 
Mr. Camp. This brought on arguments be- 
tween those who could not agree with them, 
and at times such arguments grew into heated 
disputes. 

All this happened within thirty days after 
the missionary left the community with the 
hope of regaining his health. The picture, or 
such an attitude of Christians toward each other, 
is appalling, and yet it is true. Many other 
communities have and are now suffering in the 
same way. Does not such a condition call 
loudly for a better understanding between our 
denominations ? Is it not a flagrant waste of 
our Lord's money and in direct opposition to his 
prayer that we might be " one," meaning with- 
out doubt " one " in the great work of promot- 
ing his kingdom ? 

The result of the visit of these two denomi- 
national workers brings out another fact that 
cannot be ignored. The church cannot hope to 
build up the cause it represents in the country 
by sending out poorly equipped men — narrow, 
selfish, or merely " smart " men. Those who 
are to do the Lord's work must be men who love 
the people and are willing to make sacrifices for 
them. They must feel and be in their lives 
what Christ was in his relation to the people, 



208 IIADEN" WILSON: MISSIONARY 

willing and anxious to seek and to save the lost 
regardless of creeds. 

It is but just to say, on this point, that 
denominational boards often find it very diffi- 
cult to secure fit men to occupy mission terri- 
tory. While the discord at Modoc was the re- 
sult of the overzealous efforts of two narrow, 
overzealous preachers, it does not mean that 
such actions were authorized or endorsed by 
their denominations. Neither is such strife ap- 
proved by the consecrated Christian laity. The 
folly of denominational competition that often 
results in the plurality of Protestant churches in 
villages and rural communities, which in point 
of numbers and finances are only sufficient to 
sustain one vigorous organization, must disap- 
pear before the rising tide of cooperation and 
church federation. And perhaps no body of 
men in America are more conscious of this need 
of cooperation and give to it a more hearty sup- 
port than some of our denominational boards. 
They understand that strife by those who are 
seeking to do our Lord's work must cease : and, 
also, that the trained and consecrated missionary 
is as necessary to that end as is the trained 
pastor. 

The people cannot long be deceived on these 
lines as to the Christian worker's real interest. 
They know when a man's heart is in his work 



DR. CYPERT 209 

and the real cause for which he is laboring. 
Many men have failed even in a great mission 
field for the reason that they have prosecuted 
their labors in the name of their denomination 
instead of in the name of their Lord. 



CHAPTER XX 

THE PEOPLE'S ANSWER 

Haden Wilson's rest in the mountains with 
the relief from all care soon brought marked im- 
provement in his health. After the first week 
he realized that he was gathering strength each 
day. He was soon able to make excursions into 
the mountains and enjoy the beautiful scenery 
of the Ozarks. 

During his stay at the Springs the mission- 
ary did not forget his friends back at Modoc ; 
though, he did not write long letters, yet he re- 
minded a number there in short, helpful notes, 
that he was still interested in them. These 
letters greatly aided in keeping the people faith- 
ful to their recent professions of religion. They 
also served to contradict some of the state- 
ments of Dr. Cypert. That reverend gentleman 
learned in some way that a gift of one hundred 
dollars had been made to the missionary, and 
during one of the strongest presentations of his 
doctrine, he insinuated that the missionary with 
whom they had fallen in love would not be 
heard of again. " It is common for such char- 

210 



THE PEOPLE'S ANSWER 211 

acters to labor a while, get all the money they 
can and go away never to return." This state- 
ment was contradicted by a number who 
heard it. 

At the close of six weeks Haden Wilson was 
again strong and ready for a new campaign. 
He had learned from several sources of the 
great hindrances that were obstructing his 
work, and he knew from past experiences that 
this report was doubtless true. This made him 
all the more anxious to get back to Modoc. 
While at the Springs he wrote to his superin- 
tendent a full statement of the conditions in 
that section of the state and suggested that it 
would be a good plan for him to spend a part 
of his time there for several months in order to 
hold that field. His suggestions were approved 
and instructions were given for him to use his 
best judgment in prosecuting the work. 

When Haden Wilson returned he found con- 
ditions somewhat changed. Two ministers had 
created a following. Some from each faction 
demanded that he should adopt their views and 
organize a church in harmony with them. The 
missionary understood that there was much 
work to be done to bring about the proper mind 
for such a step, but he gave the assurance that 
he would take up the matter within a reason- 
able time. 



212 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

His first plan was again to unite the people, 
if such a thing could be done. That was hard, 
however, for the reason that Dr. Cypert re- 
turned at his appointed time and again pro- 
claimed his denominational doctrine in the 
ears of the people. His following was deter- 
mined. Something had to be done. So the 
missionary had it published abroad that he 
would have, on the Sunday following the doc- 
tor's great bombardment of all the denomina- 
tions except his own, some definite proposition 
to submit to all the people relative to the or- 
ganization of a church. 

The occasion brought together a representa- 
tive citizenship. Many of them felt that it 
would be to the credit of the community to 
have such an organization, yet they were jeal- 
ous of such a movement. They remembered 
that for twenty-five years some of them had 
lived there, in all kinds of wickedness, and had 
been allowed to continue in their increasing 
sinfulness without a protest from any denomina- 
tion. However, a large majority felt that they 
could trust the missionary and was willing to do 
so. The name of every man, woman and child, 
who had been converted and was willing to 
place themselves on the side of Jesus Christ, 
had been secured during the week ; all had 
been spoken to personally by Haden Wilson. 



THE PEOPLE'S ANSWER 213 

That list contained sixty names. At least forty 
of them were adults past twenty years of age, — 
something remarkable. Ten were from the 
ranks of young people ranging from fourteen 
to twenty years of age, and only five were un- 
der fourteen years. The missionary knew that 
very few of the number were sufficiently in- 
formed as to the creeds of different churches 
clearly to understand why they would prefer 
one to another. This especially was the case 
before Dr. Cypert and the Kev. Mr. Camp un- 
dertook to indoctrinate them. Many of the 
people had grown up without any instruction 
or association that would lead them to a church 
preference. A few in their early days were to 
a degree under the influence of some particular 
denomination, and to those early impressions 
they were still loyal, although they were unin- 
formed as to the articles of faith of the church 
of their childhood. But as a whole the people 
were broadly Christian, rather than denomina- 
tional in their views. 

In his opening discourse the missionary pre- 
sented some reasons why they should have 
a permanent church organization : " First, it 
was God's plan by which the gospel is to be 
maintained in the world. It serves to bring all 
the people together with one purpose, to honor 
and worship the Creator. This association of 



214: HADEN WILSON! MISSIONARY 

neighbors, together with acts of worship in 
song and prayer, followed by the earnest and 
faithful presentation of the gospel, is one foun- 
dation of our civil, political and religious institu- 
tions. From these associations and acts of wor- 
ship there comes into the individual life a help- 
ful power that is a strong stay in the day of 
adversity, and brings to us a higher apprecia- 
tion of our duties as neighbors and citizens, and 
a greater devotion and love toward God for all 
his blessings. 

" But the greatest results which come from 
this church life are its effect upon the children. 
It is a well known fact that where children 
grow up under the influence of Bible instruc- 
tion in the Sunday-school and church, they 
make better citizens. Such communities fur- 
nish fewer drunkards, gamblers and murderers 
than those without the influence of these insti- 
tutions. To illustrate this: I have secured a 
list, so far as I have been able to do so, of the 
number of drunkards, gamblers and of those 
who have committed murder during the past 
twenty years in your community. That list is 
appalling and is a far more powerful appeal to 
you than any I can make, to establish here in 
vour midst those institutions from which eman- 
ate good fellowship, love and charity. During 
these twenty-five years your children have 



THE people's answer 215 

grown up religiously uneducated, and I have 
been able to find only a few who have gone out 
into the world to occupy a prominent place in 
any of the spheres of human activity. With 
this record of crimes there is listed within these 
twenty-five years a sufficient catalogue of mur- 
dered innocence, wrecked homes and blighted 
hopes to move even demons to tears. 

" But that day has passed for you. You are 
here at this hour to enter a decree for a brighter 
and better future. This hour is yours. On it 
hangs the highest destiny of your homes and 
your children, and as you face the obligations 
that it brings to you, let every loyal follower of 
Christ be willing to lay aside all personal pref- 
erence, if that preference conflicts with the best 
interest of the whole. 

" Why should you not unite in one church ? 
Tou are neighbors. You patronize the same 
merchant, call in the same doctor to care for 
your sick ; your sons and daughters marry. In 
the day of need you look to each other for mu- 
tual aid, and in the hour of distress and sorrow 
it is to your neighbor you turn for sympathy and 
comfort. When the death angel comes into 
your homes, claiming your loved ones, it is to 
the same common burying ground that you go. 

" All do not agree in your understanding and 
estimate placed on your merchant and doctor ; 



216 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

not every one is ^pleased with the contracts of 
matrimony ; your degrees of sympathy are as 
many as you have neighbors ; neither do you 
agree as to your idea of burying your dead. 
While all this is true you do not refuse to buy 
goods from your merchant ; neglect to call your 
doctor ; repudiate matrimony, or deny sympathy 
to your neighbor. 

" In all these relations, some of them holy, 
the individual is lost sight of in the interest of 
the whole. And since this is true, and also 
since you feel and believe a church is necessary 
for your best interest, can you not say that you 
will unite with your neighbor to secure its bless- 
ings as you have done and are doing in other 
matters ? " 

This argument brought the response that was 
desired. The missionary called names of pro- 
fessing Christians in the community, explaining 
first as he did so, if the person desiring to enter 
a church organization with his neighbors, the 
denomination to be determined by them, they 
were to stand as their names were called. Sixty 
names were called and fifty-five, all that were 
present, stood up. 

Following this it was decided that a commit- 
tee of five should be appointed from the body 
to make an investigation as to what denomination 
should be selected. To reach that end, a fair 



THE people's answer 217 

and impartial consideration was to be given to 
at least four denominations — Baptist, Methodist, 
Christian, Presbyterian and possibly others. 
One matter that was emphasized for consider- 
ation was that of ascertaining the ability of dif- 
ferent denominations to aid them in providing 
an acceptable pastor. 

This step was highly pleasing to all. The 
missionary was asked to name the committee, 
which he did, with Mr. Holmes as chairman. 
The committee was to have one month in which 
to make its report, and was to be aided by the 
missionary in any way he could, and that the 
committee might suggest. 

The following Sunday Dr. Cypert filled his 
appointment. He was indignant at what had 
been done and charged the missionary with a 
breach of Christian courtesy. He again made 
a strong appeal for the claims of his church. 
The committee heard his plea and informed the 
doctor that they would be glad to consider his 
claim and asked for all information to that end. 

Other denominations were communicated 
with ; also, a conference was held by the com- 
mittee with the presiding elder of the Meth- 
odist church. All information that was avail- 
able was secured relative to the Christian 
church. The Baptist could furnish a pastor 
once a month, with the understanding that 



218 HADEN WILSON: MISSIONARY 

the people pay $160 for the first year. The 
Presbj^terians offered to furnish a man for full 
time, he to become a resident of the community, 
and pay one-half of the salary, $400, if the 
people would pay the other half, and also pro- 
vide for him a home. The presiding elder was 
in great need of available men and could only 
offer that, at the beginning of the next confer- 
ence year, if a circuit could be created sufficient 
to insure from $300 to $450, he could probably 
send a man with an appropriation of $150, the 
circuit to make provisions for the pastor's home. 
The best that could be done by the Christian 
church at the present was to send a man once 
a month, the expenses to be borne by the 
people. 

All these offers were clearly stated at the 
meeting held for the purpose of hearing the re- 
port. The committee moved that they accept, 
so far as they could at that time, the offer of the 
Presbyterians, and asked that the proper man be 
sent to carry out all plans. 

Clarence Bush, one of the committee, stated 
that while he was reared by Methodist parents 
he was willing to favor the motion, as he fully 
believed that it would be for the best interest 
of all. Others discussed the matter. Some 
were fearful of the obligation to pay $400. 
But the vote settled it. At least eighty per cent. 



THE people's answer 219 

of the sixty persons present voted for the report 
of the committee. 

It was understood that the missionary was to 
remain in charge and fill an appointment once 
a month until the pastor could be agreed upon. 



CHAPTER XXI 
"truly the harvest is great" 

It is now almost six months since Haden 
Wilson got off the freight train at the tank 
and rode with Mike Masters in his rickety old 
wagon drawn by his little old bony team to the 
store. It had been six months full of interest. 
When the work of the last meeting was finished 
he felt that a great load was removed from his 
shoulders. While he was a Methodist and was 
loyal to his church, yet he was not disappointed 
over the people's choice. His own church had 
many good men, yet the demands upon it for 
their services, and also for funds, were far too 
great for the supply. The same was true with 
the Baptist ; for in that end of the state their 
money and men were both limited. Such was 
the case with other denominations. 

Without detailing what happened during the 
next six months following the meeting, at which 
it was decided to organize a church, we will 
rush across a period of time and take a glance, 
briefly, at Modoc one year after Haden Wilson 

220 



"truly the harvest is great" 221 

drove up to the store in Mike's rickety old 
wagon. 

The church organization has been perfected. 
A young and energetic pastor with his wife 
deeply interested in his work now has charge 
of the church. Already material is on the 
ground for a building to cost $2,500. The 
Sunday-school has grown. Ed Crockett, loyal 
to his convictions, "Be sure you are right, 
then go ahead," is sure he is right in filling a 
place in the church and Sunday-school. Mike 
Masters, with his wife and children, drives to 
the little schoolhouse each Sunday morning. 
But his old rickety wagon and little old bony 
team have given place to a more comfortable 
vehicle and much better horses. The pinched, 
starved look on the faces of the children has 
disappeared and the little care-worn wife has 
changed her burdens for joy and peace. Mike 
is a new man — " clothed," as he says, " in his 
right mind." He says: " There's no doubt 
about the world being brought to Christ since 
I, the hardest sinner in forty-five states, have 
been saved from my sins. If we had one thou- 
sand missionaries like Haden Wilson this nation 
would be taken for Jesus Christ in this genera- 
tion." Mike is a student of the Scriptures and 
frequently holds prayer-meeting services and 
makes short and impressive talks. Harry Keith 



222 HADEN WILSON : MISSIONARY 

is still an infidel, but he is no longer able to in- 
timidate his neighbors. " He is still a wolf," 
says Clarence Bush, " but the lambs are safe in 
the fold." Ethel Holmes is now a student in a 
college near Kansas City, where she is prepar- 
ing to become a missionary, subject to appoint- 
ment of the church. She is a beautiful young 
woman, and has not for one moment doubted 
that in the unfolding of her life it will be done 
in accordance with his will. With this vision 
ever before her she presses bravely on. Clar- 
ence Bush is now a student missionary. He 
has planned to spend four years in a theological 
school, but he is not at all sure that he will ac- 
cept ordination from his church. The need of 
the missionary field in his own state appeals to 
him. Since his conversion, scores have been led 
by him to accept Christ. Haden Wilson is still 
a Sunday-school missionary, seeking to find the 
neglected places, and is giving his life in willing 
service to save the lost 



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